~Perfumes ~

Finally the ancient varieties of carrot have also arrived at the market here with me in Venice. In addition to the usual orange, yesterday I found yellow and purple, with green and fresh leaves ready to become the undisputed protagonists of the dishes of these days. So I let myself be inspired by this old / new ingredient, to try my hand in today's preparation.

For this recipe I used three-color carrots. In addition to the usual orange, today I also propose yellow and purple ones, which belong to ancient varieties. They have slightly different flavors, especially the violet ones, but which harmonize and give this side dish an extra edge.
I then used to flavor various aromatic herbs that I had dried in advance (sage, rosemary, fragrant verbena), even if this is the period in which they are fresh and rich in essential oils, so you can alternatively make a mince of the fresh herbs, put them in extra virgin olive oil and brush the carrots (taking care during cooking that they do not burn, especially the verbena which is thinner).

2 orange carrots
2 yellow carrots
2 purple carrots
1 handful of aromatic herbs to taste
1 tablespoon of sumac
salt and chilli powder
2 cloves of poached garlic
extra virgin olive oil

Wash the carrots, cut the leaves leaving just a few centimeters of the green part (the most leathery one, will help you take the carrots between your fingers as a finger-food, but it will not burn when you cook it in the oven, as would happen with the leaves ). 

Cut the carrots in half lengthwise. On a baking sheet place baking paper, a drizzle of oil and lay the carrots alternating colors. 
Mash the garlic and put it in the pan.
Hand crumble the dried aromatic herbs and distribute them on the carrots, together with the sumac, a pinch of chilli pepper powder, salt and extra virgin olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 200 ° C and cook the carrots for 20 '.

Served at room temperature as a side dish or, in combination with a sauce (like a hummus, for example) they can also be a light appetizer.