Has anyone else noticed that carrots are having a moment?

In the past several months, I’ve gone from being less-than-enthused about carrots to trying every carrot recipe I see. Here are a few of the best ones I’ve encountered, featuring six different cookbooks that you can get from NPL.

This cookbook from a popular New Orleans restaurant includes a homemade carrot puree made with maple syrup that you serve for breakfast with yogurt, granola, and blueberries. Carrots for breakfast!

Samah Dada makes regular appearances on the Today Show with her Indian-inspired plant-based recipes. Her recipes are very approachable and inspiring, with two carrot standouts:

• A carrot salad made with roasted cumin-spiced carrots, mixed with arugula, avocado, and tomatoes and a za’atar and lemon vinaigrette
• Carrot halwa, an Indian dessert made by simmering shredded carrots, milk, and sugar and then topping with nuts. Carrots for dessert!
   

This cookbook was very creative and focused on using less-common grains like quinoa, farro, millet, and spelt. The pertinent recipe here was a salad with raw carrots shaved into ribbons with millet, feta, and lemon-yogurt dressing.  

More grains! I didn’t love this as much as McFadden’s other cookbook Six Seasons, but it did include a delicious Roasted Carrot, Avocado, Pistachio, and Quinoa Salad recipe that can be a lunch on its own or a side dish.
 

Melissa Clark is a cookbook author and staff writer for the New York Times Food section. Dinner in One is her latest cookbook. Try:

• Caramelized Carrots with Pancetta, Green Olives, and Parmesan (I used bacon instead of the pancetta)
• Roasted Carrots and Beets with Smoked Mozzarella, Dill, and Crispy Breadcrumbs  (She wants you to roast your own beets—no thank you. It still works with the precooked, vacuum-sealed beets that are available around town. The smoked mozzarella was the clincher here.)

I’ve already proclaimed my love of these carrots with mint caper tapenade.