Recipe: Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots

This one stepped way out of my comfort zone and, to be honest, the balsamic vinegar was so pungent that it made the whole kitchen wreak like Easter egg dye. Nonetheless, I wanted to try something bold.

Despite scrunching up my face for the first bite as if I were about to eat a flaming worm, the taste turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The balsamic vinegar and honey gave the carrots a sweet and sour flavor akin to lemons – though not exactly lemony. There was no overpowering vinegar taste and all of the flavors blended well to create a unique dish.

If I had any real complaints is was that the carrots were still a bit too crunchy – though I suspect lots of people like them that way. In the future, I’ll cut them a little thinner. However, the taste was quite nice.

I found this recipe on Pinterest, which linked to Don’t Go Bacon My Heart. Here are the ingredients and my substitutions.

Ingredients:

10 medium Carrots, peeled & sliced as necessary
Few sprigs Fresh Thyme (I used 1 Tbsp dried Thyme)
2 tbsp Honey
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Sprinkle of Fresh Parsley, finely diced (I completely forgot to add this)
Salt & Pepper, to taste (No way in hell was I going to involve my tongue in this uncooked acetum serum – I just put a 1/4 tsp of each)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375.
In a bowl mix your honey, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt/pepper.
In a tray, combine your carrots, 1/2 of your glaze, ensuring you coat the carrots as evenly as possible and sprinkle the thyme over it.
Roast for 15 mins.
Take the tray out the oven, flip each carrot over with tongs and pour the rest of your glaze over them. Put back in the oven until nicely browned and sticky. This can take up to another 25 mins depending on the size of your carrots. Warning: Don’t crank up the heat to try and speed things up as the vinegar/honey will burn.

Full disclosure: I was busy outside building a doghouse for my daughter’s dog, so my wife actually cooked this for me – she’s awesome and I’m not worthy!