I came up with this recipe as a late winter/early spring variation on my Pomegranate-Honey carrots. I love the technique (a relatively high-heat sauté for browning, plus deglazing with a pan sauce) as it yields the perfect texture and flavor I’m looking for in a carrot side dish.
For the pan sauce in this recipe, use a combination of citrus juices for your pan sauce. I happened to have a blood orange and a Meyer lemon when I was making this the other day, and that combo was delicious. But regular orange and lemon juices will be fine, too. Keep in mind that when you stir the cold butter into the pan at the end, you want it just to melt to a creamy consistency – if you overheat, the butter will break and the sauce will not be as clingy!
Serves 3
- 1 pound carrots
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed blood orange or orange juice
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice or lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided, half kept chilled
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger (or 1 teaspoon grated)
- 1 tablespoon sliced chives
1. Trim and peel your carrots and cut them into sticks that are 2 to 3 inches long, and between ¼ and 3/8 inch thick. (Try to be somewhat consistent!) Combine the orange juice, lemon juice, honey, and balsamic vinegar in a glass measure or small bowl.
2. In a large (12-inch) nonstick skillet, heat the vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons of the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the carrots and about ¾ teaspoon salt and stir well. Turn the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring only occasionally and spreading out the vegetables after every stir, until all of the carrots are browned in places, about 10 minutes. (They will be somewhat shrunken and more pliable but should still be a bit firm as the sauce will finish the cooking.) Adjust the heat up if the carrots are not browning after a couple minutes; lower the heat if the carrots are browning too much after a few minutes.
3. Turn the heat to low, add the ginger, and stir until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the citrus juice-honey mixture and stir until the liquids have mostly reduced, another 30 seconds or so. NOTE: I recommend lifting the pan off the heat right after you add the liquids and you are stirring them. This will cool your pan down a bit so that your liquids don’t reduce too enthusiastically and disappear altogether! (And your cold butter, when you add it, will stay creamy as it melts.) If the heat on your stove drops very quickly (as in induction), you don’t need to do this.
4. Immediately take the pan off the heat if you haven’t already, add the 2 teaspoons chilled butter, and toss and stir gently until it melts to a creamy consistency. Garnish with chives and serve right away.
