Citrus Maple Glazed Roasted Carrots + Tahini Brown Rice

Citrus Maple Glazed Roasted Carrots, where have you been all my life? These golden rods coated in sticky, glossy, maple-citrus sweetness do not taste like vegetables. They taste like CANDY. No really, I should've lobbied to have these babies passed out on skewers at Halloween, rather than waiting for Thanksgiving to roll around to serve these. These long skinny carrots have crispy blackened edges and tender insides that melt in your mouth and not on your fork.

And this recipe is super simple. So grab a bunch of carrots at the store, or better yet, the farmer's market, and glaze some carrots today! You will feel oh so sassy and gourmet with this platter on your table. And when holiday dinner tables need to be set, you can pull this recipe out of thin air and look like a kitchen whiz.

Kids, adults and picky eaters of all sorts will fall in love at first golden bite. Make these just once and you will forever be a roasted + glazed carrot fan. Everyone who tries these will want to finish all their veggies. Have I convinced you yet?

And a bonus side dish recipe that pairs perfectly as a base layer for these carrots: Tahini lemon short grained brown rice...

The inspiration..

Stemmed local, organic carrots..

Chop chop, and ready for glazing + roasting..

These carrots will be on my holiday table(s) this year..

And I'm pretty sure there will NOT be leftovers.

Over rice..

In a flash, your carrots go from au natural to totally sassy + glazed.

Glam carrots.

Rice too. This simple short grained brown rice (short grained is my fave!) acts as the perfect bedding for your glossy sweet carrots. The diced carrots in the rice add a subtle sweetness that compliments the savory, nutty tahini and lively lemon juice.

Carrots are rich in vitamin A and some studies have shown that cooking foods like carrots may help release some of the vitamin A to make it more easily absorbed by your body. While cooking will reduce the amount of vitamin C in most veggies, for carrots , it may help increase vitamin A. So there is a trade off.

Nutritional estimate per recipe - carrots:

Citrus Maple Glazed Roasted Carrots
makes one small platter

1 bunch of stemmed carrots (about 7-8 medium - not large - carrots) - stems removed, halved (long strips)
2 tablespoon grade B maple syrup
2-3 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon coarse pink salt
⅛ teaspoon fine black pepper
1 satsuma or tangerine (2 round slices with peel, the rest juiced + pinch of zest)

Extra glazed: for bolder carrots, you can add an extra splash of EVOO + maple syrup. You will get more sticky pourable glaze for serving this way.

Directions:

1. Wash and scrub carrots. Remove stems and slice down the center into long strips. Extra large carrots can be sliced into quarters. Skinny carrots may be kept whole.

2. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Place carrots in a dish - I used a bread loaf pan. Add the maple syrup, citrus juice, 2 citrus slices and zest, oil, salt and pepper. Toss carrots well so the coating is evenly distributed. Lightly grease a shallow baking pan or foil liner on a cookie baking sheet. Pour carrots into baking dish so that all carrots are single layered. Pour leftover glaze liquid over top carrots. Roast carrots with the two citrus slices.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for five minutes, then turn oven to broil for two minutes. Turn back down to 400 and flip carrots. Bake for another five minutes at 400 and then broil again for two minutes. Edges of a few carrots should be slightly blackened. Remove from oven, transfer to serving platter, be sure to pour excess baking dish liquid over top carrots, and serve warm.

Serving tip for the holidays: Add in some toasted pecans for an elegant accent!

Tahini Brown Rice

1 cup dry brown rice
2 cups water
½ teaspoon vegan butter or oil
2 teaspoon tahini
1 lemon, juiced
½ teaspoon mixed spice blend (salt-free) - (you can select the spice theme)
1 large carrot, diced

1. Add water, rice, pinch of salt, vegan butter or oil and carrot to a soup pot. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until water is absorbed and rice is fluffy.

2. Fold in the tahini, lemon juice and salt and spices. Salt and pepper to taste. Optional add-ins like a splash of maple syrup or chopped nuts can be added too.

3. Transfer rice to serving bowl. Serve warm. Store in fridge, covered for up to 3 days. Delicious cold too!