Easy Orange Glazed Carrots

I am quite content eating steamed carrots without any butter or seasonings. But then there’s the hubby. Just some butter and brown sugar over carrots puts a smile on his face. For a company-worthy side dish, I turned to my copy of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible (affiliate link) for inspiration and these Easy Orange Glazed Carrots were born.

This Recipe for Glazed Carrots is a simple way to jazz up ordinary carrots. The sweetness and acidity of the orange zest and juice magnify the lovely flavor of the carrots.

Why You Must Make

• A brown sugar glaze is a classic way to serve carrots!
• The glaze just magnifies the sweetness of carrots. And the acidity of the orange juice and zest balances the sugar.
• Plus if you like to jazz up your side dishes, adding toasted walnuts and sweet/tart dried cranberries adds even more flavor the texture to the dish. 

What Other Flavors Work Well with Carrots?

I flipped to carrots in my copy of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible. I turned to the flavor pairings for carrots. BOLD indicated those recommended by a number of experts.

For carrots, examples such as cheese, cinnamon, cumin, garlic, ginger, honey, mustard, and raisins were noted. An asterisk by ginger meant it was the most recommended pairing. For carrots, there was also a long list of flavor affinities as well. Carrots + balsamic vinegar + beets + chives + greens AND carrots + cilantro + ginger + scallions + sesame oil both intrigued me.

But I went with the combination of carrots + cranberries + orange + walnuts and created this dish. You can now see why many chefs use this comprehensive “cookbook” as a guide when developing new dishes.

As I mentioned above, the hubby loves glazed carrots, but incorporating dried cranberries and walnuts kicked this dish up to another level. The variety of textures and flavors took this to the realm of dishes you’d find in a lovely bistro or restaurant, but these orange glazed carrots are easy enough for the weeknight dinner table.

Wine Pairings for Carrots:

• Beer, esp. wheat beer
• Chablis
• Chardonnay, New World
• Cider
• Cocktails, esp. made with brandy, Madeira, or Marsala
• Dolcetto
• Ginger ale
• Grüner Veltliner
• Lemon-based drinks (e.g., lemonade, sparkling water with lemon, etc.)
• Muscat, esp. with desserts (e.g., carrot cake)
• Orange-based drinks (e.g., Fizzy Lizzy sparkling orange juice)
• Riesling, esp. drier
• Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand
• Sémillon
• Tokaji, esp. with desserts (e.g., carrot cake)
• Soave
• Viognier”

Excerpt From: Andrew Dornenburg, Karen Page & Michael Sofronski. “What to Drink with What You Eat.” Little, Brown and Company, 2009-07-31. iBooks. This material may be protected by copyright.

How to Make Glazed Carrots

1. Cook the Carrots to your desired tenderness. Remove to a bowl.
2. In the same pan, make the glaze by melting butter, then add the brown sugar and cook until the sugar dissolves. Add juice and zest.
3. Return carrots to the pan and toss so the carrots are well glazed.
4. Serve hot.

Frequently Asked Questions

You May Also Like:

• Greek Sugar Snap Peas from Cookin’ Canuck
• Carrot Puff
• Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
• Oven Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Brown Butter
• Asian Green Beans
• More Vegetable Side Dishes

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The Recipe:

Easy Orange Glazed Carrots

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Yield 8 servings

An elegant side dish with carrots, an orange glaze, walnuts and dried cranberries

Ingredients

• 2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/4 cup craisins/dried cranberries, optional
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped, optional

Instructions

1. Cook carrots in lightly salted water till just tender. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same pan you cooked the carrots, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and cook over medium heat till sugar starts to dissolve. Add orange juice and zest. Return carrots to pan and toss to glaze.
3. Toss with dried cranberries and walnuts, if using, to serve.

Notes

If using walnuts, toast them briefly in the oven to bring out their flavor.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 172Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 114mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 4gSugar: 18gProtein: 2g

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