Maple Pan-Roasted Baby Carrots

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Serves four.

• by Dan Barber from Fine Cooking
  Issue 85

For this recipe, baby carrots are ideal, but you can also use mature carrots if you cut them down to size (see tip below). Do not use bagged "baby cut" carrots.
You start cooking the carrots on the stovetop and then move them to the hot oven to roast. The direct heat of the stovetop jump-starts the caramelizing of the carrots.

more about:

• olive oil
• carrots
• pure maple syrup
• kosher salt
• black peppercorns

• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. carrots with their tops on, preferably baby carrots, peeled and stems trimmed to about 1/2 inch
• 1 Tbs. pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. kosher or sea salt; more as needed
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper; more as needed

Tip:

To cut a large carrot into 6 baby-carrot-size pieces, slice the carrot in half crosswise; then halve the narrower bottom end and quarter the wider stem end.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F.
In a large (12-inch) ovenproof skillet or sauté pan, heat the oil over high heat (the oil shouldn’t smoke but should crackle when you add the carrots). Add the carrots and cook, stirring frequently, until they blister and turn golden brown in spots, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the maple syrup, salt, and pepper and toss well to coat the carrots. Remove from the heat.
Spread the carrots evenly in the skillet and transfer it to the hot oven. Roast until the carrots are tender, browned in spots, and just a little shriveled, 12 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 80; Fat (g): fat g 3.5; Fat Calories (kcal): 30; Saturated Fat (g): sat fat g 0.5; Protein (g): protein g 1; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 2.5; Carbohydrates (g): carbs g 13; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 0; Sodium (mg): sodium mg 210; Cholesterol (mg): cholesterol mg 0; Fiber (g): fiber g 3;

Photo: Scott Phillips