Roasted Carrot Grilled Cheese

No matter how busy it is over at the refrigerator New Seasons, 9 times out of 10, the checker always has a conversation with me. It’s probably because I’m there four times a week at minimum, so they see me a lot, but I also think they hire really awesome people most of the time. They always want to know how your day is or what you’ve been up to, what your plans are, continue on a conversation that you’ve somehow butted in on from the person checking out before you, or invite themselves over to your house for dinner since it’s obvious that you’re cooking up is going to be www.bomb.com.

If they’re not sure, they want to guess what you plan on making with the awesome [and random] groceries you’ve set on the conveyor belt for scanning. Sometimes they guess correctly.

And I totally have to resist the urge to go all gameshow host on them [Ding, ding, ding. Tell them what they’ve won, Bob].

Sometimes they listen to what I’m about to do and their eyes do that whole O_o thing. Usually they just get a huge grin on their face, tell me that it sounds awesome, ask me how to make it, and send me on my way.

This was one of those times.

I was seriously giddy when picking up the ingredients. I may have done a little dance while the carrots were roasting. I received a text from a friend wanting to meet up. I told her it’d have to wait until after dinner unless she wanted to come over for one. “Gross.” More for me then. I wasn’t bummed.

It’s simple. Beyond simple. I had enough for two generous sandwiches. It entirely depends on how many carrots your bunch of carrots have. I ate both sandwiches myself. In one sitting. Totally unnecessary. Totally delicious.

Inspiration: Happyolks

Ingredients

• 1 bunch carrots, the smaller farmer variety–greens intact!
• 1/2-3/4 cup shaved/shredded asiago cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• juice of one lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 slices of sourdough
• Butter for the bread

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450° and line a baking sheet with silpat or it’s fine on its own.
2. Remove the greens from the carrots. Toss them in olive oil and salt and pepper and arrange them on the baking sheet.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes until easily pierced with a fork.
4. Place the greens in a food processor.
5. Add the olive oil, lemon, and garlic.
6. Process until smooth. Add additional olive oil if necessary to get the proper consistency.
7. Once the carrots are done, get out a large skillet to make the sandwiches.
8. Heat the pan to medium and butter one side of each slice of bread.
9. Lay the bread butter side down, top with cheese, pesto, and as many roasted carrots as the bread will allow.
10. Top with more cheese if you like and the other slice of bread, butter side up.
11. Grill on each side 2-4 minutes. Serve warm!