There is a baffling, and admittedly – slightly annoying – phenomenon in my kitchen that has a tendency to occur whenever I put very little time and effort into my vegetables. How is it that I can toil over something for hours on end – be it a roast, or brined pork chops, or perfectly seared filet of fish – and the part of the meal getting all of the love and attention is…
…the carrots?!
Plain, pedestrian, orange carrots!
I’ll tell you why – magic. There is no other way to explain what happens when you take vegetables, olive oil, and a smattering of salt and pepper and blast them under a high heat. Those once crisp and sometimes bitter veggies transform themselves, with no help from you, into something tender, yielding, velvety, and sweet.
Alone and simply roasted with a bit of salt & pepper, roast carrots are a go-to in my household. Apart from being uber-healthy and inexpensive, carrots are one of those veggies that seem almost season-less, as their quality does not appear to suffer with the flipping of the calender like some of their more seasonal brethren (*coughcough:* tomatoes – you bastards!).
Add a drizzle of honey and healthy pinch of fresh thyme to some of these roasted babies, and you’ve got yourself your very own version of my baffling phenom. The carrots, tender and sweet already from a roast, become coated with a honey glaze which becomes molten and slick under the heat. The thyme is fragrant and adds a welcome dimension to the glistening orange rods, at once making them taste, and look, more appealing.
Do not underestimate the power of those slightly charred ends either – they are the best parts, giving a slight crunch to an otherwise tender carrot, and possessing a massive concentration of that unreal salty/sweet flavor that makes these just so, so, good. As far as preparations go, this is about as easy as it gets. Foolproof and easy to double, I can just about promise you this will become a handy favorite.
Honey Glazed Carrots with Thyme
Serves 4, as a side
Lining the baking sheet here with parchment is not absolutely necessary, however I prefer not to spend my entire evening chipping hardened honey off of sheet pans. I going to go ahead and assume the same goes for you!
If you want to double (or even triple) this recipe just be sure to give each carrot enough room to ‘breathe’ on its baking sheet. You may need to use more than one, as if they are piled on top of each other they will steam and become soggy, rather than becoming lovely. You want lovely, trust me.
If you like you can cut your carrots into smaller pieces, but I prefer to leave mine long & lean. These are great hot from the oven or room temperature.
1 pound carrots
olive oil
sea salt & fresh cracked pepper
2 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp thyme leaves (a handful of thyme, with the leaves stripped from the stems)
Preheat your oven to 425F. Peel the carrots, and trim the tops and any stringy ends. If your carrots are large, cut them in half lengthwise – mine were fairly small to start with, and I chose to leave them whole. Place the carrots on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and pour enough olive oil over them to just lightly coat each carrot (you will need somewhere around 1-1.5 Tbsp). Season the carrots with the sea salt & fresh pepper.
Roast the carrots in the preheated oven, tossing occasionally, until they are just tender and caramelized on their outsides, 30-35 minutes. Keep an eye on them, as yours may cook more quickly or take longer depending on their size.
When the carrots are tender, remove them from the oven, and drizzle the honey over them, tossing to coat each carrot. Sprinkle the thyme leaves over the carrots, and place them back in the oven to roast for an additional 5-7 minutes, until the honey is bubbling and caramelized slightly. Again, keep an eye on them, as you do not want the honey to burn or blacken on the carrots.
Serve the carrots immediately, or at room temperature.
E A T & R E L I S H 