YIELDS:
4-6 servings
PREP TIME:
0 hours 15 mins
COOK TIME:
0 hours 45 mins
TOTAL TIME:
1 hours 0 mins
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ingredients
3 Lbs. carrots, peeled and sliced 1″ thick
¼ Cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. white miso paste
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Fresh Orange Juice
1 Tbsp. Orange flavored liquor
¾ Tsp. Garlic powder
½ Tsp. Onion powder
½ Tsp. Cinnamon
½ Tsp. Kosher salt
¼ Tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 Tsp. Calabrian Chili flakes
2 Tbsp. Fresh thyme, finely chopped
¼ Cup Fresh pomegranate arils
Zest of half an orange
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
½ Cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 Tsp. Olive oil
½ Tbsp. Maple syrup
½ Tsp. Dried thyme, finely chopped
⅛ Tsp. Kosher salt
⅛ Tsp. Cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Peel and slice carrots into 1” thick slices. Put them into a large bowl.
2. Whisk together maple syrup, miso, tamari, orange juice, liquor, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon, pepper, Calabrian chili and salt in a small bowl.
3. Pour mixture over carrots and toss with the chopped thyme. Once everything is evenly coated, put on the prepared baking sheet. Roast for 40-45 minutes total, stirring 2-3 times during cooking, until the carrots are fork tender and slightly caramelized.
4. Meanwhile, make your pan-roasted pepitas. Add the olive oil to a small skillet over medium heat.
5. Add pepitas and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
6. Add maple syrup, thyme, salt, cinnamon, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes. Transfer them to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, tin foil or silpat and really spread them out so them don’t stick together. Let cool.
7. Remove the roasted carrots from the oven. Put them in a serving bowl or on a platter. Garnish with the fresh pomegranate arils, grated orange zest and pepitas. Sprinkle with a little more chopped, fresh thyme and serve.
NOTE: I was looking for a new vegetable side dish for this year’s holiday festivities and I caught a recipe from Crowdedkitchen.com on Instagram and it was screaming my name. This recipe is an adaptation of their recipe – I had to make it my own! I wanted to add the orange flavors I love to the sweet potatoes and I wanted to bring a little heat to the party. I hope they don’t mind me changing it up.
If you love sweet and tart and a bit of crunch (And who doesn’t?) all mixed together, this dish is for you. I’m a big pomegranate fan and I loved the idea of that fresh tart taste on the sweet, warm and spicy potatoes…it works beautifully.
I roasted my potatoes on a baking sheet so I’d get more carmelization on the potatoes but I’m sure you could just bake these in the serving casserole dish. I chose not to and they came out great. Adding the fresh orange zest at the end compliments the orange juice and orange liquor I used in the glaze. Note: any orange liquor will do. If you don’t want to use liquor, a little more orange juice will do the trick.
This has been the best new side dish I’ve made in the last few holiday seasons. Definitely give it a try.
