Sunday, March 18, 2018

Ginger Beer Glazed Carrots


If you're looking for a sunny side dish for your spring table, I've got one here that I think you'll enjoy! ,
Cooked carrots don't always have a great reputation - they tend to be overdone, bland, and leached of all the flavor that makes a carrot such a sweet pleasure to eat. It really is a matter of cooking properly and seasoning well to take them from sad to celebratory!

These started on a whim - somehow, I'd managed to have far too many carrots for my husband and I to eat raw, and needed to use some of them as a side dish rather than being a minor player in stews or salads.  My husband tends to be in the 'no cooked carrots' camp, although he is polite about pushing them around the plate and nibbling at a few, so I wasn't expecting him to like this.  Which means it was all about pleasing myself!

We had some ginger beer on hand which, unlike Ginger Ale, tends to be on the spicy ginger side rather than sweet - I thought it might result in something interesting here.  I pulled these little golden gems together, to go along with some chicken thighs and wild and mixed rice pilaf.


Ginger Beer Glazed Carrots
serves 4

7-8 carrots, peeled, and sliced into thin coins
2 Tablespoons butter
12 oz. Ginger Beer
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon Hungarian Paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Heat pan with half the butter, and lightly saute the carrots until they are slightly softened.

Add ginger beer, remaining butter, honey, and seasonings, and simmer on medium, stirring occasionally, until the liquid cooks down.  The honey will help create a glazed effect.

Taste, and adjust seasonings as needed.

The surprising verdict from my husband: he liked these, and even helped himself to extras!  The leftovers had a bright, gingery taste that reheated well, too.  We will certainly be doing these again, and I think they'd be a perfect side dish for St. Patricks Day (Leprechaun Coins, anyway), Ostara or Easter.

Ginger Ale would work instead of Ginger Beer (though you may wish to avoid adding honey, since Ginger Ale is plenty sweet already), but I encourage you to find some Ginger Beer - it has a much spicier gingery taste to that really made these carrots sparkle!

(originally posted March 2016)








17 comments:

  1. Lynda, I agree that cooked carrots don't thrill many. Would love to try your gingery glaze though. Sounds totally delicious and the family might actually start asking for carrots! Pinning to share.

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  2. Carrots do need a little help to be tasty, I think. Your recipe sounds like a great way to add lots of flavor to them.

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  3. Oh my Lynda, that does sound tasty! Pinned and shared.

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  4. That sounds delicious! We tried roasting our carrots the other night with a bit of vegetable oil and some garlic salt. I do find that plain carrots aren't the most tasty. Pinned.

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  5. Oooh... Ginger glazed carrots would be a big hit at our house! I never would have thought to add ginger beer. What a great idea! Thank you for the recipe. -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

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  6. Looks like a great way to add some flavor to carrots! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday! Can't wait to see what you link up next week! Roseann from This Autoimmune Life

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  7. Sometimes I have to use up carrots too and this sounds like a great way to try to use them up. Pinned.

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  8. I actually enjoy carrots. Don't know why we don't cook them more often. They taste just a tad sweet to me.

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  9. OMG ..Can’t wait to try this recipe ..I love ginger and I’m sure it wills price them up beautifully ...Hugs

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  10. Yummy! I'm always looking for new vegetable recipes, and this sounds yummy! The whole meal sounds delicious. Now I'm hungry! Lol

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  11. Oh, I love glazed carrots! I've got to get some ginger beer and try it. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs.
    Jann

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  12. I like the ginger ale option for the carrots, and I would probably add the honey too. The sweeter, the better! I'm always looking for new ways to feed my family carrots! Pinned!

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  13. The flavor of your carrots will be fabulous! Hope you are having a great weekend and thanks so much for sharing your great post with us at Full Plate Thursday!
    Miz Helen

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  14. This sounds wonderful and I'm going to add it to our list of things to try. Great job and thanks for sharing on To Grandma's House We Go!

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  15. My hubby loves ginger beer and I enjoy glazed carrots. Perhaps this will be the perfect marriage.

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  16. The spicy ginger beer flavours would be so nice with the carrots! What a great idea for a recipe! Thank you so much for sharing this delicious side dish, and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. Hope to 'see' you again this week!

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  17. I love cooked carrots. I'm a big fan of ginger, too. Can't wait to try your recipe.

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