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Charred, Spicy Carrots with Hummus, Feta & Pesto

You can make this using shop bought hummus (and pesto) for a quick fix for lunch, though the carrots do need a long, hot roast to get the best out of them. You could use more harissa in place of the pesto if you want to make it spicier. A few roasted walnuts or pine nuts scattered over the top would work well too

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teasooon agave syrup or honey

2 teaspoons harisa or vegan nduja (ve-du-ja)

A squeeze of lemon juice

A pinch of sea salt

A good grind of black peppr

6 long, thin carrots

1x400g tin good quality chick peas

100g tahini

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 cloves garlic – crushed

Ice cold water

½ teaspoon sea salt

Large bunch of basil

30g pine nuts

30g pecorino - grated

Another squeeze of lemon juice

More olive oil

And a little more salt

100g feta - crumbled

Method
Heat the oven to 200ᵒC

Line an oven dish or tray with foil and lay the scrubbed carrots out

Take a small mixing bowl and mix together the olive oil, agave syrup or honey, harissa or nduja, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and the black pepper, then pour this over the carrots before putting in the oven for 45 minutes. Turn them twice through the roasting time. They should be tender and slightly charred in places. If not, put them under the grill for a couple of minutes to char them which brings out the sweetness

Meanwhile, make the hummus. Pu the drained chick peas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor. Turn on to high, then slowly add the cold water until you have the consistency you are happy with. Add a little salt and keep blending for 3-4 minutes until very smooth. Taste and adjust the lemon/garlic/salt as required. Spread out onto a serving plate

Wash the bowl of the food processor out and now make the pesto. Simply put the basil, pine nuts, pecorino, lemon juice and sal in the processor and blend, adding olive oil in a steady stream until you have a slightly grainy, bright green pesto

To assemble, gently place the roasted carrots on top of the hummus. Top with the crumbled feta, and then dot with pesto

Serve with any type of bread