Thanksgiving

Buttery Maple and Cumin Carrots

by:
March 26, 2012
5
4 Ratings
Buttery Maple and Cumin Carrots
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 4 to 6
Author Notes

The menu at Tasty 'n Sons in Portland is a constant source of inspiration for me. Mainly it inspires me to move to Oregon and eat at the restaurant every day, but in this case, I'm taking the flavors from their amazing Yams Glazed with Cumin and Maple and applying them to my favorite farmers market vegetable: carrots. I add in a little hit of coriander -- cumin's floral friend -- and cook the carrots on the stovetop instead of in the oven for a fast side dish. Take care not to overcook the spices, or they will turn bitter -- keep the pan moving and lower the heat if you need to. The carrots are a great side dish for pork chops, with the maple sauce spooned over the top. And they'll hold me over until I can make it back to Portland. —vvvanessa

Test Kitchen Notes

This recipe absolutely hits it out of the park with elegance, ease, simplicity, and a flavor profile that just won't quit. The recipe takes about two minutes to put together and results in an absolutely delightful side dish that would be a welcome presence at any dinner party. Luckily for me, I live in Oregon and can easily visit Tasty N Sons in Portland. I can't wait to do so and taste their rendition of the dish, but I can't imagine that it is any better than this one. We are planning to serve it at Thanksgiving. —lmikkel

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 3/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound carrots cut into batons about 1/2-inch thick
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup real maple syrup
Directions
  1. Gently crack open the cumin and coriander seeds with a mortar and pestle or with the flat side of a knife. They should still look like seeds, not ground.
  2. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, toss in the spices and heat them for 10 seconds, keeping the pan moving to prevent them from scorching.
  3. Lower the heat to medium and add in the butter and oil. Swirl them around as they melt to coat the spices. This will keep them from burning and will infuse the butter and oil with their flavor.
  4. Toss in the carrots. Keep the pan moving and sauté the carrots for about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat as necessary to keep the spices from overcooking. Toss in the salt.
  5. Add in the maple syrup and continue to keep the pan moving, cooking the carrots for another 3 to 5 minutes, until they begin to caramelize and are just shy of fork-tender, and the maple syrup has had a chance to reduce a bit.
  6. Serve hot with the maple glaze poured over the carrots.
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16 Reviews

foxeslovelemons
foxeslovelemons October 25, 2013
Warm congratulations on the CP! I'm adding this to my "Thanksgiving Possibilities" folder. So elegant!
 
vvvanessa
vvvanessa October 29, 2013
Thank you so much! I hope you get to try it for Thanksgiving or another time.
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. April 10, 2012
p.s. this is a food porn shot if i ever saw one!
 
vvvanessa
vvvanessa October 29, 2013
: )
 
BoulderGalinTokyo
BoulderGalinTokyo April 10, 2012
Made this for Easter side dish-amazing flavors, very simple preparation, looks elegant. We left tops on which captured the sauce and was delicious!
 
vvvanessa
vvvanessa April 10, 2012
Wonderful! Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad it was a success.
 
BlueKaleRoad
BlueKaleRoad March 29, 2012
What a beautiful dish - I love the flavors! I was just pondering what carrot recipe to add to our Seder menu for next week and now I have it! And I need to get to Portland to eat soon...so many places on my list to try.
 
vvvanessa
vvvanessa April 10, 2012
Thanks! I hope it worked out. Let me know when you're in Portland so I can fly up and help you eat it!
 
BlueKaleRoad
BlueKaleRoad April 10, 2012
Will do! And the carrots were wonderful. Thank you for a terrific recipe! :)
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour March 26, 2012
Great photo as usual! This looks fabulous, and is a great homage to the original. It's making me hungry for Tasty's for sure!
 
vvvanessa
vvvanessa March 27, 2012
Thank you! I am craving the Burmese Pork Stew right now...
 
wssmom
wssmom March 26, 2012
The flavors in this are AMAZING!
 
vvvanessa
vvvanessa March 27, 2012
It is a very happy comination!
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. March 26, 2012
I'm glad you entered this. I've been playing with just this idea this week and i'd been toying with the possible additions of fresh ginger or soy sauce. I'm so glad you have used cumin seed and not ground cumin;makes such a difference here! Great job; beautiful photo. I've never seen carrots that thin; reminds me of a favorite Japanese vegetable of mine- gobo (burdock root) when pickled and packaged.
 
vvvanessa
vvvanessa March 26, 2012
Thanks, Le Bec Fin! I don't know exactly how the recipe I'm basing this off of is made, but I think one of the wonders of it is its (apparent) simplicity, so that's what I was going for here. Ginger and carrots is always a winner! And I was thrilled to see these young, skinny carrots at the market yesterday, partly because they're gorgeous and partly because it saved me a few knife strokes!
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. March 30, 2012
V, this is a crummy photo which i plan to replace, but it shows the gobo i was telling you about:

http://food52.com/recipes/16416_my_favorite_inari_pocketstofu_skin_pockets_filled_w_sushi_rice_and_crunchies