Roasted Glazed Carrots

Tart, Sweet, Savory and Spicy Roasted Glazed Carrots

Vegetables like asparagus and tomatoes naturally take center stage. Not so with carrots. True, they add color to vegetable and dip platters. Yet they usually sit mostly untouched throughout the party. I can’t even remember the last time I served cooked carrots on their own. With today’s recipe for Roasted Glazed Carrots w/ Pomegranate Molasses & Ras El Hanout, we’ll neglect them no more.

Kitchen staple & superfood

A staple in many kitchens, carrots belong to the trio of aromatics (onions, celery & carrots) often added to pots of stock as well as countless soups, stews and sauces. Many nutritionists consider sweet and crunchy carrots a superfood due to their significant health benefits. With a somewhat neutral flavor, carrots make the perfect canvas for spices sweet and savory.

To know them is to love them
Exotic and intensely flavored Middle-Eastern pomegranate molasses and Moroccan ras el hanout star in today’s easy, healthy and vegan recipe for Roasted Glazed Carrots. One taste, one smell and I loved them both.

I bought this bottle of tart and sweet pomegranate molasses in New York last fall. It was the only brand at Sahadi’s made from just pomegranates. The complex sweet, savory and spicy Moroccan spice blend ras el hanout ( meaning “top of the shop” or the best the shop has to offer) came from Pinch Spice Market.

You can make both the ras el hanout and pomegranate molasses at home. Making ras el hanout consists of toasting, grinding and blending together a number of spices. Pomegranate molasses requires boiling down pomegranate juice to form a thick, dark, tart and full-flavored syrup.

An aside

Perhaps my timing is off a bit. Should have saved this recipe for a Halloween post as I’m noticing that every picture is orange. Fortunately, Roasted Glazed Carrots are as delicious in April as they are in October.

Other recipes for ras el hanout and pomegranate molasses

Give ras el hanout a try sprinkled on popcorn. You might also enjoy:

• Delicata Squash with Maple/Balsamic/Pomegranate Glaze
• Winter Vegetable Tagine
  

  Roasted Glazed Carrots w/ Pomegranate Molasses & Ras El Hanout

Inspired and adapted from recipes in Bon Appetit Magazine and Tasting Table.
With carrots wider than ¾ of an inch in diameter, either cut them in half lengthwise or increase the first roasting time (when covered in foil) another 5-10 minutes.
Warning: the glaze is so tasty you may want to lick your plate clean.

Makes: 2-3 servings                                      Printer-Friendly Recipe.
Active time:  10 minutes
Total time:  45 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound thin carrots
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Scant ¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ras el hanout, or more to taste
½ tablespoon water
½ tablespoon light honey
½ tablespoon pomegranate molasses
Coarse sea salt to taste

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 475 degrees. Line a rimmed baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Wash (peel if not organic) and dry the carrots.
3. Mix the oil, salt and ras el hanout together in a baking dish or platter large enough to lay the carrots flat.
4. Toss the carrots in the mixture. When well coated, place the carrots in a single layer on the parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the pan with the water. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.
5. Roast the carrots for 10 minutes. Remove the foil, perhaps saving it for another use. Roast the carrots uncovered for another 20 minutes until tender. Reduce the oven to 425 degrees.
6. Place the honey and pomegranate molasses in the same baking dish or platter you used earlier. Toss the carrots in this mixture. Turn and coat them till evenly glazed.
7. Return the carrots to the baking sheet. Drizzle any remaining glaze over the carrots.
8. Roast for about 12-15 minutes till the glaze has reduced and browned. Shake the pan once or twice during the roasting time to evenly glaze the carrots.
9. Remove the glistening carrots from the oven. Just before serving, sprinkle them with coarse salt to taste. Serve Roasted Glazed Carrots hot or at room temperature.

Printer-Friendly Recipe.