Whether you are celebrating Easter or Passover, this beautiful side dish will enhance any meal.
Carrots are a fabulous vegetable eaten raw or cooked low and slow, like in stews and soups. But cooking them just to the point where they lose their crunch, but aren’t mushy, can be challenging.
This special recipe to the rescue. First the carrots are sautéd in butter until nicely glazed. (If you don’t use butter, try Earth Balance. It has great flavor.) They then are cooked with a little honey, vegetable stock and water until barely tender. The secret here is to remove the lid and continue cooking until the liquid has evaporated into a rich glaze, the carrots have a lovely sheen, and are tender to the bite. A little extra butter at the end seals the deal.
The carrots are at their brightest eaten right after they are cooked. Reheating them tends to lose some of that perfect al dente character, but they still will be wonderfully tasty and add lovely color to the plate.
Only one caveat: Don’t use too many purple carrots. The purple bleaches off and they turn all the other carrots an unattractive purplish-gray.
GLAZED RAINBOW CARROTS
These carrots are best cooked right before serving. If you need to cook them ahead, stop after step 2 and glaze right before serving.
24 to 36 oz. rainbow carrots, peeled, thick ones cut in half lengthwise (Don’t use more than 2 or 3 purple ones. They turn the dish a rather unattractive purplish-gray.)
3 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 3 fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup water
Kosher salt and pepper
1. In a Dutch oven, melt 3 tablespoons butter over moderate heat. Stir in carrots, thyme and bay leaves. Cook until well glazed, about 8 minutes.
2. Stir in honey, stock and water. Bring to a boil, cover and cook at medium low, stirring once until barely soft, about 12 minutes.
3. Remove lid and cook over medium high heat until most of the liquid has absorbed and carrots are tender and nicely glazed. Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs, if using.
4. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and season with salt and pepper.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
