a_c: I do that too, although I don't eat much bread these days. That salad sounds pretty great though!
The dip was good. A bit more like a paté than a dip proper, but still tasty. Different, but in a good way.
6 good sized carrots (roughly 500 g or a pound), scrubbed but not peeled
1 mid to large red onion, skin on
1 head of garlic
olive oil
two thumbs of fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
2 tbsp of the best curry powder blend you can find
2 tbsp tamari (regular soy sauce will so, but tamari is way better)
maple syrup/honey
salt/pepper
veg broth/water
Cut the carrots into thirds lengthwise and in half/quarter so they're all roughly the same volume. Don't be too picky about it, but get it sort of close. Blanch them in boiling water for about 3-4 minutes, and then drain well (do not bother shocking as they'll be going in the oven). Slice the onion in half around the equator, leaving the skin on. Ditto for the head of garlic.
Toss vegetables in just enough olive oil to coat, and then the tamari and a few cracks of black pepper. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast at 180C (375F) until the carrots are fork tender-- approximately 40 minutes. They will be quite brown on the bottom; this is a good thing.
While the veg are roasting, saute the ginger in a bit of hot olive oil for a couple of minutes. Add the curry powder and saute for another minute or so, blooming the spices. Let cool.
Once the vegetables are done roasting, peel the skin off the onion (will be easy) and squirt the roasted garlic into a food processor. Add the rest of the veg, as well as the ginger/curry mix and a few tablespoons of stock. Process until a uniform texture, thinning with stock as desired. Add a bit of honey or maple syrup (I used the latter) just to bring out the carrots' natural sweetness-- it shouldn't taste like honey or syrup-- and salt and pepper to taste. If the tamari has gotten lost, add a dash more; it should still be a background flavour, but noticeable.
Once the seasoning is about right, let it sit in the fridge (covered, of course) overnight to mellow and marry. When serving, allow it to come to room temp first, and check the seasoning again just to be sure. I served it piled high in a tiny bowl almost like a cheese ball, but ymmv.
