Honey-Tarragon Glazed Baby Carrots

I use tri-colored baby carrots for this dish because they are so wonderfully colorful. The French seem partial to tarragon as you find it in so many of their recipes, especially sauces such as Béarnaise Sauce. Tarragon’s distinctive yet subtle herbal flavor is particularly well suited to use with fish and chicken, and as part of vinaigrettes and sauces. But I have to say, that the understated flavor and aroma of tarragon combined with butter and honey make for some sublimely delicious carrots.

Calories 262 kcal

Ingredients

2 lb.s baby carrots I used peeled tri-colored carrots but you can use all orange
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt divide for boiling carrots and for sautéing
1 ⁄4 cup butter
1 ⁄4 cup honey
2 teaspoons dried or fresh tarragon
1 ⁄4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Cook baby carrots, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in boiling water for 8-10 minutes. Drain. Plunge in cold water and drain again.
Heat butter and honey in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, carrots, tarragon, and pepper. Cook until thoroughly heated, about 3 minutes. Serve.

Recipe Notes

Wine and Beer Pairing:

As this is a side dish, I usually let the center-of-the-plate dictate the wine or beer pairing.

Cost:

The cost of this side is typically $0.50 - $1.50 depending on the season and whether you use orange or tri-colored baby carrots and whether they are peeled or you do all the preparations (wash, trim and peel).

Time and Effort:

This recipe doesn’t take too much time or effort but that depends on whether you want to save money or time based on your choice on how much carrot pre-preparation you want to do.

Alex Approved:

This is not yet an ‘Alex Approved’ recipe. I think it might be if he would give it a try, but right now, he just looks at the carrots as something akin to a combination of terror and disgust.

Leftovers:

These carrots are great as a leftover, so depending on the center-of-the-plate and how much leftovers I plan, I make a commensurate amount of carrots so I have leftovers to set full plates.

Health:

This is a pretty healthy side dish, but as always, you need to consider how this compliments and combines with your center-of-the-plate. In this case, this dish is a little high in saturated fat, so just be aware of what else you are consuming, same goes for sugars (carrots have a lot of sugar). Cholesterol is very low and sodium is also low.