Roasted Carrot & Dill Orzo Salad

When I first decided to throw a big barbecue shindig, I knew I needed an amazing side that could find its place on the buffet table while holding its own outside in the hot May weather. Mayonnaise seemed right out, even though we all know and love those creamy cole slaws and potato salads, and I wanted to have something I could make ahead in bulk that would grow in flavor as it rested in the fridge while I pulled pork, chopped cabbage, and stirred up peach sangria.

I thumbed through cookbooks, eyeing recipes that were at first too involved, had ingredients I couldn’t afford, or would be a nightmare to whip up for a party of 25. As luck would have it, one of my cookbooks plopped off the table onto the floor and fell open to reveal a pasta salad made with tangy lemon, carrots, dill and roasted carrots, and seasoned liberally with garlic, olive oil, and salt. No, I’m not even kidding, that’s exactly how I found the recipe. Thank you as always, Martha Stewart, for providing recipes now and then that fit every occasion and stand the test of time. The recipe I use now is basically much the same as that recipe that appeared in that cookbook, with a few slight changes to allow for my obsession with roasted root vegetables.

This salad delivers on every front, offering a satisfyingly savory and tangy multi-textured carnival of flavors studded with the surprising sweetness and depth of roasted carrots. I love roasted carrots, and if I’m honest most of the reasons I call for so many here is that it’s really difficult not to eat them like candy as soon as they come out of the oven. I chop them asymmetrically and roast them for much longer than the original recipe calls for, allowing them to get crunchy and crisply caramelized (and sometimes a little charred, but clearly those are suspect and should be consumed immediately to make way for their prettier counterparts. No I am not making excuses for half the bowl disappearing, why do you ask?) while sweetening and softening a bit on the inside. Combine that with the mountain of roasted garlic I add and they’re irresistible for snacking. So if only 75% or so make it into the salad, that’s okay too.

Speaking of garlic, I’m not certain that I can ever get enough of it, so I basically see Martha’s 4 cloves and raise her the rest of the head, cooking it in a little terra cotta roaster I picked up somewhere years ago. If you don’t have one, never fear, just coat that head of garlic in olive oil and plop it in the middle of the carrot pan to roast and it will be just great. Squeeze that papery skin after its cooked and cooled and it will come out brown and soft and sweet and gentle and so savory it makes your toes curl.