Carrots are one of the most common vegetables we tend to have with our dinner but they can be a bit bland and flavourless if you simply boil them. Boiling vegetables is quick, but it tends to make them mushy, destroys their natural flavours and also causes most of their nutrients to leak into the water.
Instead, Jeanine Donofrio, a cook and founder of Love and Lemons, stated that you will crave carrots every day if you try roasting them in a little bit of honey. Jeanine said: “To me, roasted carrots are the perfect veggie side dish. They’re easy to make, but they’re also amazingly flavourful. The hot oven intensifies the carrots natural sweetness, and it makes them soft and tender, with lightly crisp, caramelised edges.”
She added: “In addition to the olive oil, salt, and pepper I’d toss with any roasted vegetable, I use some honey here. It lightly glazes the carrots and helps them brown and caramelise in the oven.”
Roasting carrots has a much better texture as they will be glossy and golden rather than the mushy mess they usually become if boiled in water.
Placing carrots in the oven helps remove their natural moisture so they crisp up and also caramelises the sugars already in the vegetable.
Adding a little honey helps make a glaze for the carrots to intensify their flavour so you will end up with a delicious side dish that is super simple to prepare in less than five minutes.
How to roast carrots properly
You will need:
- 450g of carrots
- One tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- One teaspoons of honey
- Chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
To begin, preheat the oven to 220C and then line a tray with baking paper.
Cut the carrots into five centimetre chunks, then place in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, honey, salt and pepper then mix everything together until the carrots are fully coated.
Next, place the cut carrots onto the prepared tray, and make sure each slice is in a single layer.
Cook the carrots for 15 to 25 minutes until soft and tender. They should become a golden-brown colour as they caramelise and be crispy but not mushy.
Then, remove the carrots from the oven, season with parsley, and your tastier carrots are ready to eat.
