Roasted Carrot Shawarma (vegan)

As usual I am trying to get more vegetables into my belly.   And I want to make it a meal.  A really delicious meal.  For this purpose I took a spin on a chicken shawarma recipe.  Shawarma is a sandwich that usually contains marinated, slow roasted meat as well as a variety of topping like fresh sliced tomato, cucumber, onion, parsley, tahini, hummus, tabbouleh, feta cheese, tzatziki, hot sauce, ect.   I replaced the meat with carrots by slicing the carrots long and thin, marinating them for an hour in spices, lemon juice and zest, and olive oil and roasting them in the oven.  The result was better than any traditional shawarma sandwich I've tried.  I'm going to stick with carrots.


I served this batch with chopped parsley, flat bread, and hummus. I was out of yeast so I made an unleavened bread, that turned out crispy and delicious, a great crunchy element that added contrast to the dish.  This recipe serves two.

The Basics:
1. Slice carrots, season, marinate, and roast.
2. Eat with flat bread or pita with all the shawarma fixings.



Recipe:
5 large carrots
1 lemon
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 cloves of garlic


Method:
1. Wash carrots but do not peel off the skin.
2. Slice the carrot lengthwise so that they are thin, about half an inch thick.

3. Place in a bowl and add the zest of the lemon, plus the lemon juice, straining out the seeds.
4. Add the olive oil and spices and mix well.
5. Let marinate for an hour or for up to 24 hours covered in the refrigerator.
4. Place the marinated carrots on a baking sheet.
5. Also place the whole garlic cloves, with skin, on the tray to roast with the carrots.
6. Roast in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and remove garlic from skin, spreading the roasted garlic onto the flat bread or pita.

 

8. Add carrots to flat bread and then garish with hummus, parsley and other vegetables. Add feta cheese or tzatziki if you wish.


ENJOY!