When one’s carrot-hating father devours a plate of carrots, you know they must be good.
My father ate these carrots and clearly overcame a hatred of cooked carrots that had been going on for over fifty years. He explained to me that when he was a kid, any vegetable he was forced to eat was basically a ball of mushy, disgusting blandness. His mom, bless her heart, just didn’t know how to cook vegetables.
This is a surprisingly common problem, so if you think the works “cooked” and “carrot” are meant to be enemies for life, then, well, I urge you to step back and give this a shot.
Because these maple carrots were pretty much the one accomplishment of my week.
And hell, I’ll take it. Because who wouldn’t want a week filled with carrots that are roasted in a pan with buttery, maple-filled goodness? Not only that, but they are easy to make and require just one pan! These aren’t your mama’s mushy, bland carrots. They are tender but still solid enough to pick up by hand, and the sticky, syrupy goodness on top brings out the natural sweetness of the carrots without destroying their savory nature.
Elegant, easy, enjoyable. Dig into some carrots, y’all!
Pan-Roasted Maple Carrots
Serves 2 Serving Size: 3oz carrots Calories/Serving: 58
Ingredients:
- 6 oz fresh carrots
- 1/3c. plus 2tbl water, divided (may need more or less)
- 3tbl sugar-free maple syrup
- 1tsp light margarine
- 1/8tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
- In a medium pan over low heat, combine two tablespoons water, the carrots, and the butter. Turn heat to medium and cook for five minutes, covered, or until water is evaporated.
- Turn over carrots, and add the maple syrup, two more tablespoons water, and the vanilla. Cook on low heat, covered, for 10 minutes. Check every once in a while to make sure the liquid hasn’t all evaporated– if it has, add another tablespoon water.
- Flip carrots again and cook another 10 minutes on low, covered, or until carrots bend slightly when picked up/ are soft but still hold their texture when poked. Check every once in a while to make sure the liquid hasn’t all evaporated– if it has, add another tablespoon water.
- Serve!
