I was back home a few weeks ago, rummaging through my parents’ collection of cookbooks. And there, at the bottom of the pile was a cookbook I thought was long lost. This particular cookbook is out of print, and it’s not well known at all. But it contains a collection of the most wonderful recipes, and one recipe, in particular, is the inspiration for my roasted whole carrots with coriander and cumin butter.

Ismail Merchant was an Indian born film producer, the other half of the Merchant Ivory film production company responsible for movies such as Heat and Dust, A Room with a View, The Bostonians, Howards End, The Golden Bowl, and together they racked up six academy awards.

But what is less well known is that Ismail Merchant was a brilliant cook and the writer of cooks books. And it was one of these, old, battered, with yellowing pages, I brought back from my parents. And it’s this book that helped me to develop this recipe for roasted whole carrots with coriander and cumin.

What are the best spices for roasted whole carrots?

Carrots are naturally sweet and go well with spices that complement its natural sugars. Coriander and cumin work really well with carrots. Herbs such as fresh thyme, parsley, or oregano are perfect companions. A simple clove of garlic mashed into butter is simply sublime. In Ismail’s book, there is a recipe for carrots with dill and honey – try it, it’s wonderful.

What temperature should I roast my carrots

I would roast carrots at a lower temperature, 180 degrees Celcius, any higher for this recipe and the butter will start to burn.

Do I need to boil my carrots before roasting?

For this particular recipe, I didn’t. I simply gave the carrots a good scrub before coating them generously in the coriander and cumin butter.

Even for when I made carrot hummus I didn’t boil my carrots before roasting. Keep things simple.