Pomegranate Glazed Carrots

Sometimes you want to take things up a notch!

You want to put a little extra time and love into some special dishes that are sure to get "oohs" and "aahs" at your table.

If this is what you are looking to do, I suggest you start by simmering down some pomegranate juice into a thick molasses-type sauce.

Then make it into a honey, orange zest, and vinegar dressing that will coat your perfectly roasted carrots in a glaze of goodness.

And finally take the time to top those glistening, sticky sweet carrots with pecans, a touch of yogurt, pomegranate seeds, and parsley...

In the end you will be rewarded with a side dish that definitely takes things to the next level--offering all the flavors of a home-cooked meal, but with enough elegance for a sophisticated restaurant service.

Pomegranate Glazed Carrots

servings: 2 -3 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pomegranate juice (see note below)
• ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1½ tablespoons honey
• 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
• Zest of ¼ orange
• 1 pound baby carrots
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
• ⅓ cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley leaves

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a small sauce pot, bring the pomegranate juice and sugar to a simmer. Continue to simmer this mixture until it has reduced to a molasses-like consistency—about 30 minutes. You should have about 2 tablespoons of this thickened pomegranate juice.
2. Transfer the pomegranate mixture to a medium bowl, then whisk in the vinegar, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the honey, Dijon, ¼ teaspoon of the salt, and the orange zest.
3. Add the carrots to a baking sheet, tossing them with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, and the pepper. Roast them in the oven until they are tender and nicely browned on the outside—about 30 minutes.
4. Remove the carrots from the oven and toss them with the pomegranate vinaigrette, then return them to the oven for 5 minutes more.
5. After removing the carrots from the oven, serve by drizzling them with the yogurt, then sprinkling with the pecans, pomegranate seeds, and parsley.

Notes:

• You will want to use 100% pomegranate juice, not pomegranate juice mixed with other juices, or with added sugar. If you can't find pure pomegranate juice, you can use a blend, but your glaze will be significantly sweeter; adding a little extra vinegar may balance it out.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

Find more recipes like this in MORE VEGGIES PLEASE!

 

You might also like these recipes:

Carrot Pumpkins

I like to celebrate Halloween as much as the next person, but I’m not the type to spend hours crafting or piping pumpkins onto everything I make.

But what I do love is to take a carrot, make a couple of simple cuts in it, and suddenly have a pumpkin patch on my plate!

These pumpkin carrots could not be simpler!

Look for thick carrots, then cut two “V”’s lengthwise down the tops of the sides.

Cut the carrots into rounds, then let yourself feel like one of those Pinterest moms as your kids go to school with NO BORING CARROTS in their lunches.

They've got PUMPKIN carrots!

Carrot Pumpkins

servings: 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 2 medium carrots

Directions:

1. Peel the carrots and cut off their tops. Place the carrots on a cutting board and cut two short vertical lines into the tops of each carrot, about ¼ inch from one another; the cuts should go about ⅓ of the way through the carrots’ diameters and should extend the length of the carrots (see cross section of carrot below).
2. Next make two diagonal cuts into the tops of the carrots that intersect the first two cuts, creating long, triangle-shaped strips that, when removed, create pumpkin shapes when you look at cross-sections of the carrots (see below).
3. If needed, use a vegetable peeler to refine the shapes of the carrots so that they look more like pumpkins. Cut each carrot width-wise into ¼-inch slices, discarding the smallest ends.
4. Serve with your favorite hummus or veggie dip and enjoy!

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

Find more recipes like this in MORE VEGGIES PLEASE!

You might also like these recipes:

Brown Butter Garlic Carrots

If you have read my vegetable-focused cookbook, Meat on the Side, it was probably shocking to learn on page 108 that...I don’t like carrots.

Because as much as I’m a huge veggie fan, I have to say that not all veggies are created equal.

In my mind, carrots just fall low on the list.

But that doesn’t mean I don't eat them.

I know that the more I eat them, the more I’ll get used to them and develop a taste for them.

In other words, I'll actually learn to like them.

So when thinking about a carrot side dish, I knew I wanted it to be delicious to carrot-lovers, carrot-likers, and carrot-tolerators alike. 

And I figured the best way to do this was to invite some of my favorite things like brown butter and garlic to party.

In the end I seriously LOVED these carrots—like shockingly LOVED these carrots.

YOU MUST MAKE THEM!

Brown Butter Garlic Carrots

servings: 2

Ingredients:

• One 8-ounce bunch carrots, with tops
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the carrots in a single layer on a baking sheet and toss them with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven until they are tender and browned in spots—about 30 minutes (If your carrots are thicker, they will take a little longer to cook).
2. Meanwhile, add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the butter stops foaming and bubbling and there are brown specks on the bottom of the pan—about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the pan with the butter from the heat and stir in the garlic, then transfer this mixture to a small bowl and reserve; leaving 1 tablespoon in the pan.
4. Add the breadcrumbs to the pan with the 1 tablespoon of butter-garlic mixture, stirring to combine, then cook until the breadcrumbs are toasted—2 to 3 minutes.
5. When the carrots are done cooking, drizzle them with the reserved browned butter and garlic and toss to combine.
6. Arrange the carrots on a serving plate and top with the breadcrumbs and chives!

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

Find more recipes like this in Meat on the Side!

You might also like these recipes:

Banana Carrot Oat Muffins

My daughter, Ivy, loves all carbs (I can’t imagine where she gets it from 😉).

She'll also gobble up anything that looks like a muffin.

And from a mom point-of-view, I know muffins are the perfect food to freeze and pull out as needed.

So I challenged myself to make a super healthy muffin that would taste just as delicious as a regular not-as-healthy one.

My goal was to make this muffin so tasty that not only would Ivy eat it, but the big kids in the house (my husband and I) would gobble it up as well.

The result is a muffin basically made of bananas, carrots, oats, and a touch of maple syrup. You puree all of these ingredients up and put the batter in the cups of a muffin tin.

These muffins couldn’t be easier to make and they actually taste like banana bread!

Whenever I’m eating one I have to remind myself how healthy they are because all I’m thinking is, I’m in muffin heaven.

Now don’t get me wrong, they're a little denser than a regular muffin (they're all oats instead of flour, so that's why that happens).

And they're a touch more moist than you might be used to (this makes them perfect when re-heated though!).

But the fact that you can eat ten of these and still feel like Healthy Eating Champion of the World makes it all worth it!

Banana Carrot Oat Muffins

makes: 36 mini muffins

Ingredients:

• 2½ cups rolled oats, more for a garnish
• 3 medium ripe bananas, sliced
• 2 cups grated carrots (about 6 ounces)
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the oats, bananas, carrots, maple syrup, eggs, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to the to a blender or food processor, then pulse until all ingredients are well-combined and the mixture is almost pureed, but not quite smooth. You may have to stop and stir the mixture a bit to make sure it doesn’t contain any large chunks.
2. Scoop the batter evenly into 36 cups of a mini muffin tin prepared with cooking spray, then top each muffin with a light sprinkle of the reserved oats.
3. Bake the muffins until a knife inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean and dry —24 to 28 minutes.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

Find more recipes like this in Meat on the Side!

You might also like these recipes: