Honey Carrots

My mother made the most delicious candied carrots. They were heavy in her weeknight rotation, but we couldn’t get enough. Her carrots were just on the dangerous end of caramelized, so sweet but still tasting of carrots. She would always tell us they would help our eyesight and give us beautiful skin, but we needed no encouragement. We would fight over the last carrot. Every time.

I’ve tried to recreate the dish many many times, but they always tasted too sweet and too bland somehow. The other night, on a whim, I decided to add vinegar, and the magic happened again. Suddenly my carrots are as good as my mom’s. We are once again, fighting over the last carrot.

I’m not sure if the carrots are giving me the beautiful rosy cheeks my mom used to promise, but they taste so good, I don’t even care. It feels so wonderful to have my mother’s carrots back heavily in my weeknight rotation.

the de Sa Pereira family when we used to fight over the last carrot

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Honey Carrots

Yield: 3-4

Author: Vanessa Druckman

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 20 Min

These carrots are a delicious side dish for dinner but can also make a deeply satisfying lunch all on their own. Use multi-colored carrots for an extra wow factor. This is pictured with honey duck and using the duck fat from the seared duck breasts.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slives (rondelles) or a bag of pretty multi-colored carrots peeled and left whole, with tough ends cut off
• 4 tablespoons of honey
• 2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar
• salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Place the carrots in a pan of cold water. Bring to a boil. Cook for another 5 minutes. Drain and set to the side.
2. Put a frying pan on the burner at medium-high heat. When hot, add 2 tablespoons of salted butter. I love the Trader Joes Frere Jacques French butter or Le President.
3. Once the fat is melted, add the carrots and stir well to coat. Pour the honey and vinegar on top.
4. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the carrots are coated with the honey vinegar mixture and beautifully shiny. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve immediately.