Pan-Roasted Carrots
August 14, 2009 · 16 comments
Intrigued by the title, I was browsing through Think Like a Chef
Chef Colicchio calls for 16 peeled and trimmed carrots, salt and pepper, 4 sprigs of rosemary, 1 tablespoon of butter, and 4 teaspoons of honey. Sounds delicious, but I want a little less sweetness, so I use balsamic vinegar, and less of it. I also object to peeling the carrots, because I don’t want to lose all the flavor and nutrients in the peel. I also skipped the pepper, but freshly ground white pepper would be a nice addition.
Start with nice carrots, by which I mean carrots that are of about the same size, are straight, and hopefully are fresh from a garden. Wash them, and optionally peel them. Make sure to dry the carrots to avoid splattering.
Preheat a large fry or sauté pan over medium heat with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. When the pan is ready, add the carrots. Every so often over the next twenty minutes or so, turn the carrots so that the whole carrot is roasted.
When the carrots look like they’re done, add a spear or two of fresh rosemary. Continue cooking and turning the carrots for another five minutes or so. Then add a tablespoon of butter and drizzle them with balsamic vinegar.
As the butter melts, turn the carrots to coat all the way around with butter and balsamic. Much of the butter will remain in the pan, and the rosemary is really only there to perfume the carrots. The balsamic darkens the caramelization and adds its own sweetness. Remove the carrots from the pan to a serving dish and sprinkle liberally with Fleur de Sel
These things are so good I eat them as a snack!
My name is Gareth Mark, and I live in Portland, Oregon. I've been a line cook a few times and worked several years as a pastry chef.
Nice and simple, I might try to do it by grilling. Thanks.
I’ll definitely have to try this! Sounds delicious with both the balsamic and the honey so I may try two batches!!!
yummy I am making these tonight!!
These look wonderful!
What a wonderful recipe and just in time for all those baby carrots at the farmer’s market!
Mmmm, these look fantastic! I’ve been buying big beautiful bunches of carrots at my farmer’s market–now I know what to do next with them!
Looks great!
I made these tonight– so easy and delicious!
This is possibly the most delicious-looking vegetable dish (and photo) I have ever seen. If there’s a National Carrot Board, they should put you on the payroll, because I want to eat carrots NOW.
I would love to try making this pan-roasted carrots! yummy
It’s very easy to do, and you’ll be very glad if you make them.
These were very tasty! I made them last night. Thanks for the recipe.
These are delicious!! I made them for the first time Saturday. My husband says he loves them as much as he does nachos, and that’s no joking matter. Picked up three bunches of carrots at the farmers’ market yesterday and am eating some right now!
I love roasted carrots and these sound great! I too was not fond of the sweetness I first read of, but LOVE LOVE LOVE the addition of balsamic! On my list for dinner this week!
Grilling will do nicely, but you’ll still want to finish in a pan for the butter and balsamic or honey.
Thank you! I’m rather proud of that photo, because it looks as good as the carrots taste.