Wine-Glazed Carrots
This lovely and earthy side dish is a great accompaniment to the wine roast chicken. Dry toasting and grinding your own cumin seeds brings out the cumin’s flavour profile and intensity even more. In fact, toasting and grinding whole spices at home instead of purchasing pre-ground spices may extend their shelf life as they retain a better flavour when stored whole. Use your favourite BC wine to glaze these delectable carrots.Ingredients
Serves 6
1 tsp (5 ml) cumin seeds
¾ cup (180 ml) white wine, divided
2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
1 tbsp (15 ml) maple syrup or liquid clover honey
¼ tsp (1 ml) red pepper chili flakes (optional)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb (450 g) slender rainbow carrots, scrubbed and tops trimmed to about 1-in (2.5 cm)
2 tbsp (30 ml) chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C).
- In a large ovenproof frying pan, toast cumin seeds over medium heat until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove frying pan from heat and transfer toasted seeds to a mortar and pestle. Grind or pound until coarse. Alternatively, crush seeds on a cutting board using a heavy saucepan.
- In same large frying pan removed from heat, whisk together ½ cup (125 mL) wine, oil, maple syrup, red pepper chili flakes, ground cumin and a good pinch each salt and pepper. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, remove frying pan from heat, add carrots and toss well to coat with wine mixture. Cover frying pan with a lid or seal with foil before transferring to oven to roast until carrots are just starting to become tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove lid or foil, gently toss carrots and continue to roast in oven until carrots are tender, another 10 to 15 minutes.
- Using an oven mitt or tea towel, remove frying pan from oven. Transfer carrots to a serving platter and keep warm. Still using oven mitt or tea towel to hold pan’s handle, add remaining ¼ cup (60 ml) wine to pan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to scrape any browned bits from bottom of pan. Boil, stirring often, until liquid has reduced by at least half and is slightly syrupy, about 3 minutes.
- To serve, drizzle reduced cooking liquid over carrots. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.