Oh, dear carrot...how I love ye! Carrots are a pretty underrated vegetable, often overlooked & an afterthought during holiday feasts. I blame whoever thought steamed crinkle-cut carrots were a good idea! That guy, along with the rest of the carrot-steamer population, might as well eat baby food. Ugh...and don’t even get me started on the faction of carrot-boilers out there!

In addition to decreasing the flavor, steaming or boiling carrots for too long also decreases their nutrients such as vitamin C. Give these radiant root vegetables a little love. Roasting these little guys enhances the flavor by caramelizing their natural sugars and allows it to develop a subtle smokiness to it.

If you are in a rush & roasting them start to finish won’t work, you can par-boil or steam carrots for about 3-5 minutes, then finish them off in the oven. Want to meal prep? Blanch your carrots by letting them boil for about 2-3 minutes, then immediately give them an ice water bath. Once they are completely cooled in the ice bath, let them dry on a paper towel before storing them in a freezer bag to pull out and bake as needed.

Now that we’ve discussed how to cook carrots so they don’t resemble baby food, let’s talk about getting your carrots drunk! Just kidding...most of the alcohol cooks out, leaving the carrots with notes of the vanilla, brown sugar and a hint of oak from the rum. Guys...game changer!

Notes & Substitutions:

Equipment: Baking pan or cast iron skillet (Can you tell I use it for just about everything?)

Ingredients: See ‘A Pinch, A Dash & A Smidge’ for measuring references.

Carrots (peeled & trimmed)
A couple dollops vegan butter
A tad of agave nectar
A few splashes of spiced rum ( use Sailor Jerry)
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
A dash of ground nutmeg
A dash of ground cloves
A couple drops of cooking oil
A drop of cayenne

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a lightly greased shallow pan, place your carrots & a few sprigs of fresh thyme, then pop in the oven to roast.
In a shallow pan, melt your butter on medium heat until almost golden brown. Once butter is melted and almost brown, it will quickly go from brown to burnt, so keep an eye on it.
Once butter is ready, turn down heat to medium-low, add in a splash of spiced rum, stir & let simmer.
While simmering, add another splash of rum, mix together, then continue to stir while so that the rum & butter don't separate. Let sauce cook until it has slightly thickened & is an amber color.
Mix in agave nectar & remove from heat.
Once carrots are roasted and slightly tender when you stick a fork in it, pull carrots out of the oven. Brush carrots with a little bit of sauce, setting some sauce aside to use later.
Sprinkle your nutmeg, cloves, cayenne & remainder sprigs of thyme. Place back in the oven until you see the coating start to sizzle a bit.
When coating starts to sizzle, remove from oven & transfer to platter, then drizzle remainder sauce over carrots. Serve hot.