I picked up this bag of rainbow carrots from Walmart the other day, with no plan on what to do with them, really. They just looked too pretty to pass up so I made this easy side dish.
I’m keeping these so simple. I feel like side dishes on holidays should be easy because there’s so much going on. But these are so elegant looking when they’re done, that no one needs to know how easy they were to make. You’ll just toss them in some extra virgin olive oil, and I’m using one of my very favorites from our line: Blood Orange. This is made simply from premium olives crushed with fresh Blood Oranges; it has this mild sweetness to it that goes so well with carrots. If you don’t have this, our garlic or lemon works beautifully here, or simply any regular olive oil.
When roasting carrots, I like them to be similar in size, so cut any larger ones in half length-wise. I especially love those purple ones cut in half because they’re so beautiful inside; they kind of look tie died, don’t they? Give them a sprinkle of salt and pepper and toss them in the oven for about 30 minutes.
While they’re cooking you’ll make your balsamic glaze. Now, if you have any of our Balsamic Vinegars, you can skip the glaze-making and just pour straight from the bottle. I particularly like both our Fig and Pomegranate Balsamics here, but any of them would be delicious.
Our Balsamics are already in glaze form, and have been sweetened and reduced, but if you don’t have any, I’ve got an easy recipe for you. You simply simmer balsamic vinegar with some sugar on the stove top. It only takes a few minutes and you’ll get a thick, syrupy consistency, almost like honey. It tastes soooo good.
Just drizzle that on and then give the dish a big sprinkling of freshly snipped chives (or chipped snives, as my Mom always used to say!) You can find fresh chives in the produce department of the grocery store with the other fresh herbs.
These are sweet and tangy and so beautiful and delicious. Make them for Easter and then again for an easy weeknight side dish!
Interested in whole carrots? Check out this recipe! And don’t forget to shop our spring sale, going on right now!
