Oven Roasted Maple Glazed Carrots Recipe with Fresh Thyme (2024)

FAQs

How does Gordon Ramsay roast carrots? ›

Boil the carrots and butternut squash first for aprox 8 minutes, then add in the parsnips and swede and cook all together for another 5 minutes. Drain, and place in a shallow roasting tray with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Roast for 20 – 30 minutes till golden and crisp.

If you don't par cook the carrots, they will cook faster on the outside than the inside when they are in the oven. It also gives them a better texture. Raw carrots that are roasted can be a little rubbery and chewy. Par boiling softens them, so they have a tender texture.

Maple roasted carrots

The same method as above but replacing honey with maple syrup. A sprinkling of chilli flakes, some quartered oranges and a knob of butter will also work wonders here. Just make sure you keep an eye on them towards the end of cooking as the maple syrup can catch and darken quite quickly.

Roasting really brings out carrots' best qualities. To make them, just toss carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake until they're golden on the edges and tender throughout.

As with many vegetables, roasting carrots brings out their sweet inner nature. Peel the carrots or don't peel the carrots—it's up to you. Peeling takes a bit more time, obviously, but also leads to a more consistent final texture to the dish.

Too much oil and your veggies will turn out soggy and dense. But skimp on that oil and those vegetables will be too dry. Luckily, it's easy to find Goldilocks' just right amount. The solution: Before hitting the sheet pan, place the vegetables in a large bowl and add a tablespoon of oil.

These hemicelluloses dissolve in the heat and steam of cooking, weakening the cell walls and causing the vegetables to soften. But here's the deal – hemicelluloses aren't soluble in acid and therefore won't dissolve if the cooking environment is too acidic.

Editor: Coating vegetables in oil does a few things. For one, it helps prevent vegetables from sticking to the baking sheet or roasting pan. (But since you're using a Silpat, it looks like that isn't an issue here.) Roasting vegetables with oil also encourages extra browning and creates a richer, more toasty flavor.

When to Skip Peeling Carrots. “Juicing and roasting carrots are good times to avoid peeling,” says Hilowitz. “If you are making a rustic dish, then leaving the peel on could potentially enhance the look and experience of the dish.

Flavor Enhancements

Use spearmint, marjoram, a small bay leaf, thyme, grated ginger root, chopped chives, dill or parsley.

What makes carrots taste better? ›

Or, to bring out their fresh, woody flavor, add some anise. If you're roasting your carrots, toss them in olive oil first. This will help keep the moisture in them. To bring out the sweetness in your carrots, season them with orange or lemon juice or a little brown sugar and butter.

Maple syrup is one of the best substitutes for honey because it has a very similar texture and consistency. If you usually drizzle honey over pancakes or enjoy mixing natural yogurt with honey, then maple syrup is the perfect honey replacement. When used for baking, it can directly replace honey in the recipe.

If your carrots are still hard, then they are likely undercooked.

Method. Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Toss your carrots with a good lug of olive oil, a splash of vinegar, salt and pepper, the thyme sprigs and the garlic cloves. Place in a roasting tray or earthenware dish, cover tightly with tinfoil and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until just tender.

Your body has an easier time absorbing the carotenoids in carrots if you eat them cooked rather than raw. Cooking breaks down the vegetable's cell walls, making its nutrients more available. Of course, how you cook them matters—boiling vegetables can leach out nutrients, so it's better to steam, sauté, or roast.

Undercook them, and the texture is tough and dense. Overcook them, and they're dry and wrinkled. The secret is to soften the carrots slightly by boiling them briefly before roasting. The texture will be firm-tender with just the right amount of caramelization on the outside.