Roasted Carrots with Cardamom Honeyed Butter Sesame Seeds

Glorious veggies.  I love all veggies in an indiscriminately inclusive fashion and if you happen to roast them, I think I may love them even more,  Root vegetables are especially wonderful and these roasted carrots with a cardamom infused sweet honey, butter and sesame seed drizzle are beyond delicious.  I found myself snacking on them the next day, cold out of the refrigerator straight from their plastic storage container.

Carrots - of course they are loaded with beta carotene and are indeed good for your vision.  It's the beta carotene that turns these and other vegetables orange and converts to vitamin A which is what's great for your vision.  Carrots also have their own dose of antioxidants, which of course we all need lots of to help us fight off disease.

HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THESE RAINBOW CARROTS

I found rainbow carrots for this dish which are simply gorgeous,  You can certainly use the standard orange carrot from the store, but if you happen to come across rainbow carrots, they make this dish seem even more special.

OUT OF THE OVEN & READY FOR THE GOOD STUFF

The honey butter with sesame seeds and cardamom drizzled over the roasted carrots is the icing on the carrot cake.  I melt good quality butter with a but of olive oil to keep it from browning, although browned butter would be delicious too.  Then I add a hint of cardamom for that mysterious taste that usually folks can't easily identify, some honey for additional sweetness (those roasted carrots are sweet too) and some sesame seeds for texture. 

THE STICKY SWEET CARDAMOM HONEYED BUTTER WITH SESAME SEEDS IS THE ICING ON THIS CARROT CAKE ;-)

I topped mine off with just a smidge of chopped parsley for freshness, but that's totally optional.

While I used white sesame seeds I thought after the fact that black sesame seeds may have been a beautiful contrast, so next time I'll try that.  I may do orange carrots with the black sesame seeds for Halloween.  Fun, colorful and oh so yummy.

SIMPLY TOSS THE ROASTED CARROTS WITH THE SWEET BUTTERY SESAME SEEDS

kitchenAid Pots & Pans

Parchment Paper

Baking Sheets

Roasted Carrots with Cardamom Honeyed Butter Sesame Seeds


Preheat oven to 400 degrees


1 pound carrots (I used rainbow carrots for dramatic effect), cut in half lengthwise 
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon course sea salt, divided (If you use regular table salt, you'll need to reduce the amount)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (white or black)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (optional)


If the carrots are larger in circumference, you may need to not only cut in half lengthwise, but cut those halves in half again.

Place carrots on a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper for easier clean up).  Drizzle over 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.  Toss to ensure all the carrots are evenly coated then place in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes until nicely caramelized.
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While the carrots roast, make the Cardamom Honeyed Butter Sesame Seeds.

In a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.  One melted, stir in the honey, cardamom and sesame seeds.  Let bubble for just a minute, then remove from the heat.  Keep warm until the carrots come out of the oven.  I kept my skillet on the back of the stove so the honey stayed fluid.

As soon as you remove the carrots out of the oven, pour over the cardamon honeyed butter sesame seeds over the hot carrots and toss.  There may be a slight sizzling sound as you pour which is ideal.  


Sprinkle over the parsley if using.  Dig in and know these are equally delicious the next day, right out of the fridge.

These gorgeous Smithey iron skillets come in all sizes.  You can actually roast the carrots in a larger one, or use the smaller skillet to make the fragrant & sweet honeyed sesame butter.

They're beautiful & herloom quality, so a great gift for anyone who cooks.

Tools for this recipe:

Quality knife set
Parchment Paper
Baking Sheets
Cutting Board