Beersamic roasted carrots are a delicious and colorful side to a variety of meat dishes and can easily be enjoyed on their own. Especially if you get smaller, younger carrots (hint: a most favorable ratio of caramelized, malty and slightly tangy outer surface area to inner flesh). More beersamic glaze to enjoy.
Beersamic glaze has a bit more of a tangy character and carrots are very receptive of it. And since I promised several different example of using beersamic in our last post, there is little time to waste. In the case of these beersamic roasted carrots we did not thicken the syrup with a slurry, it is a pure reduction.
Read this post to learn How to Make Beersamic.
Being a huge fan of the produce selection at Trader Joe’s I frequently pick up a bag of their multi-colored smallish carrots. They call them Les Petites Carrots of Many Colors. So poetic – they are the cutest and most colorful looking root vegetables ever.
Did you know that the orange colored carrot which seems to be the most common one today was purposefully cultivated? The earliest carrots were purple and yellow, later on white and red varieties were recorded and finally the orange one. There is a tale (not entirely factually confirmed) that orange carrots were developed and cultivated in sixteenth century Netherlands in honor of William of the Dutch House of Orange. Most likely though, there were orange mutations of purple carrots that tasted better and they were then purposefully stabilized and cultivated.
You can find multi-colored young carrots at the organic section of many markets. If not, just use regular orange ones and if they are too big slice them lengthwise – in half or in quarters if needed. To achieve the favorable ratio of surface area to inner flesh of course.
Besides that, making beersamic roasted carrots boils down to preparing a beersamic glaze and liberally smothering it over the carrots.
When cooking for our small family I like to use an eight inch iron cast skillet. It almost perfectly accommodates a pound of carrots and any small carrot overlaps are just fine. By the time they are done roasting the carrots get smaller in size and skillet becomes an even better fit.
If preparing this side dish for a larger party a quarter sized sheet pan works beautifully. Brushed with cooking oil, the carrots arranged across, seasoned with salt and pepper and bathed in beersamic. Ready for the oven.
An important note – I have found that roasting time can vary greatly from one carrot variety to another as well as with size. Sometimes when I want to keep the carrots whole instead of cutting them in halves or quarters to ensure they cook through I blanch them first. Blanching for just a couple of minutes gives them a head start to achieving the inside tenderness needed for the perfect beersamic roasted carrots.
Beersamic Roasted Carrots
Carrots of many colors are lightly salted and flavored with pepper then brushed with a delicious malty sweet and tangy beersamic (reduction of half balsamic vinegar, half malty brown ale) and roasted until soft and beginning to caramelize. Garnish with fresh thyme.
Ingredients
- 1 lb multi colored carrots, cleaned and ready to cook
- pinch of salt + pinch of pepper
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup of beersamic, recipe: https://www.craftbeering.com/how-to-make-beersamic/
- 1 tbsp cooking oil, to grease roasting sheet pan/skillet
- 1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
- Grease your roasting pan sheet/cast iron skillet with cooking oil.
- *Arrange the carrots and season with salt and pepper.
- Brush the beersamic glaze over them, turning them around to make sure all sides are well coated.
- Roast for 20-25 minutes or until soft and beginning to caramelize. (After about 10 minutes you can temporarily pull them our of the oven to apply more beersamic glaze).
- *If you prefer your carrots extra soft on the inside, blanche them prior to roasting. Bring a pot of water to boil and allow the carrots to cook for 3-5 minutes (depending on how thick they are or if you have halved them length-wise). Drain, shock in ice bath (or run under cold water) and proceed with recipe steps.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 71Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 99mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 1g
Leanna says
Every time I check out your blog, I see an amazing recipe to enjoy. I love the presentation on this post, with the rustic background to the cast iron pan and the oh so no rustic carrot recipe. These look delicious.
Leslie says
Due to a recent illness, I’ve been told that I can’t eat raw vegetables for the next several months…so I’m going to need amazing roasted vegetable dishes like this. Can’t wait to give it a try!
CraftBeering says
Oh, no! But then again – roasted veggies are pretty good:) Hope all is well with you now, Leslie!
Sandra L Garth says
What a great way to have your veggies!
annie@ciaochowbambina says
So you know how I feel about your photography – but these carrots are making my eyes sing…let alone my tastebuds! Gimme all the roasted veggies with that glaze!! Have a great week!!
CraftBeering says
Thanks, Annie:) Glad you like.
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
Wow – those are beautiful carrots to start with and then you elevated them! So glad you’ve joined the What’s for Dinner party!
Amy (Savory Moments) says
Delicious and they look so pretty!
CraftBeering says
A mini feast for the eyes:) Thank you, Amy!
Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond says
A delicious way to eat carrots! Thanks for sharing with us at #BloggersPitStop and have a great week!
CraftBeering says
Thank you so much, Sue! You too!
Colleen - Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck says
The perfect side…especially for spring…which will eventually arrive!
CraftBeering says
Right? Eventually:) Thank you, Colleen!
Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats says
I love roasted carrots, so I ABSOLUTELY have to try these!! They sound amazing 🙂
CraftBeering says
Thank you, Kelly!
Meg | Meg is Well says
I’m really drooling over here. The glaze looks absolutely amazing on those carrots!
CraftBeering says
Thank you, Meg!
Mary says
Carrots are my jam. Roasted carrots, raw carrots, carrot soup all of it makes me a happy girl. Your Beersamic Glaze would be amazeballs on these carrots, OMG I bet it smells delicious.
CraftBeering says
It does smell delicious, I mean sweet & sour caramelized carrots, mmm:) Thank you, Mary!
laura says
What gorgeous photos! I pinned this, it sounds amazing. Thanks for linking up to the Friday Frenzy–we appreciate you.
CraftBeering says
Thank you so very much, Laura!
Marvellina | What To Cook Today says
I love these colorful young carrots! They are pretty photogenic too!! What a great idea to use the beersamic glaze for this. You guys seriously make cooking and baking with beer so effortless and love your knowledge about it too. There’s so little I know about it but thanks to you guys for widening my horizon!
CraftBeering says
Yey! So happy to read this, Marvellina! Learning quite a bit from you on our part:)
tonia conner says
While I’m not a beer drinker, this sounds delicious and will be trying it. I’m now following you. At 70 yrs of age it is hard to find new recipes without being so expensive with all the additives that I would seldom use.
\Looking forward to being blog buddies.
CraftBeering says
Thank you so much, Tonia! We hope you do try beersamic soon. See you soon:)
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
Absolutely beautiful! Such a great way to enjoy carrots. Simply perfect 🙂
CraftBeering says
Thank you, Jennifer! Have a great weekend!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
I love roasted veg and I always grab those beautiful carrots whenever I see ’em (though, we don’t have Trader Joe’s around here). I love the one that’s purple outside and orange inside. SO pretty! I bet these pair beautifully with that beersamic. I could make a meal out of just these! Cheers to a wonderful weekend, you guys 🙂
CraftBeering says
Cheers, Dawn! Yes, the purples are so beautiful! Cannot go wrong with multi-colored carrots and beersamic:)
Jennifer Ostroski says
First of all, I have found my new favorite blog to read and stalk. Second of all, these look absolutely amazing! My husband and I (also craft beer lovers) love cooking with beer, but it can be tricky sometimes. These look gorgeous and delicious!
CraftBeering says
Hello, Jennifer! Hope you will be coming back for inspiration:) Cheers to (and with) the best beverage in the world!
CraftBeering says
Thank you, Kelsie! You and I both – roasted veggies are a staple in the winter. Roasting Romanesco tonight:) Have a great weekend yourself!
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says
These are the prettiest (and tastiest) roasted carrots I’ve ever seen. I’m a HUGE fan of roasted veggies of any variety and I just want to dive face-first into your pics! Have a great weekend!