Bonus Blog: Oven Baked Carrots

Good evening everyone! It’s Monday once again, which typically means it’s time to take another trip Around The Culinary World. Sadly, this week didn’t provide us with enough exciting culinary stories to share (slow news week I guess). So, in its place we decided to share a bonus recipe. This simple dish makes a great side dish to a larger meal or can even be featured on its own as the main attraction. Let’s start the week off right with a brand new recipe!

The Recipe: Oven Baked Carrots

Original Recipe Found In: Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

What You’ll Need:

1 Bag Baby Carrots

1 Medium Navel Orange

1 Garlic Clove (Minced)

1 Slice Thick Cut Bacon (Chopped into bits)

1 Tablespoon Butter

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

To begin, pull out a 2 foot sheet of aluminum foil and fold it evenly in half (1 foot per side) unfold the aluminum foil and spread it out on your working surface.

Next, place the carrots on one side of the fold. Over the carrots, zest the orange (using the entire peel). Next add the minced garlic as well as the chopped bacon bits. Mix everything well with your hands until the mixture is evenly blended. Season this mixture with a few shakes of dried rosemary. Place the pat of butter right on top of the mixture.

Begin making a pouch out of the aluminum foil. First, fold the other half of the foil back over the top of the mixture. Next, turn over the sides of the foil multiple times to create a seal (make sure to leave the far end of the pouch open for now). Stand the pouch up on end (the crease acts as the ‘bottom’ of the pouch) squeeze the juice from the orange into the opening at the ‘top’ of the pouch. Once the juice has been added, seal the top of the pouch as well.

Place this tightly sealed pouch on a baking sheet and into the oven for 55 minutes. Once they’ve finished slowly roasting (carefully) open the pouch and serve.

The Results:

This recipe takes the cake when it comes to cooking carrots. Oranges and carrots are one of the culinary combinations that seem odd on the surface, but turn out to be a beautiful matchup. The citrus of the orange becomes a subtle addition to the carrots – neither overpowering nor disappearing from the dish. This dish is the textbook definition of balance flavors. The salty bacon, bite of the garlic, acid of the citrus, cream of the butter and herby influence of the rosemary all combine to create a great, even final dish. If you’re a big fan of carrots, this recipe will be one of your favorites. If you typically don’t like carrots – you may end up changing your tune after trying this recipe. Simple in preparation and great in flavor, there’s not reason not to try this dish yourself.

That’s all we have for you this evening. We’ve got two new recipes on the docket this week. Maggie takes to the kitchen on Tuesday with a vegetarian twist on a blog favorite. I’ll follow her on Wednesday with dish perfect for the summer grilling season. Be sure to stop in Tuesday night to see what Maggie has cooking. Until then,

~Cheers