Roasted Carrots

Ingredients

·         1½ Pounds carrots *

·         2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

·         table salt

·         ground black pepper

·         * Once the carrots have been peeled and cut in half crosswise, you will need to treat them differently based on their size. At this point, small carrots (less than ½ inch in diameter) are ready to cook. The bottom pieces from medium carrots (1/2 to 1 inch in diameter) can be cooked as is, but the top pieces will be quite thick and should be halved lengthwise to create a total of 3 pieces from each medium carrot. Large carrots (more than 1 inch in diameter) should be cut into 8 pieces in total; after cutting the carrot in half crosswise, quarter each section lengthwise.

·         * The foil can be used to line the rimmed baking sheet to make clean-up a snap. More important, the foil is used to cover the baking sheet during the first 15 minutes of the roasting time. The foil traps moisture and helps ensure that the carrots don’t shrivel up.

Instructions

Prepare Carrots

·         1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.

·         2. Use vegetable peeler to peel 1 ½ pounds carrots.

·         3. Cut carrots in half crosswise. Leave small carrots (less than ½ inch in diameter) as is.

·         4. Cut top portion of any medium carrots (1/2 to 1 inch in diameter) in half lengthwise to yield total of 3 pieces.

·         5. Cut each portion of any large carrots (more than 1 inch in diameter) lengthwise into quarters to yield total of 8 pieces.

·         6. Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter.

·         7. In large bowl, combine carrots with butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; toss to coat.

·         8. Transfer carrots to foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and spread in single layer.

Roast Carrots

·         9. Cover baking sheet tightly with foil and cook for 15 minutes.

·         10. Remove foil.

·         11. Continue to cook, stirring twice, until carrots are well browned and tender, 30 to 35 minutes.

·         12. Transfer to serving platter, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Total Time: 1 hour 
Preparation Time: 15 minutes 
Active Cooking Time: 15 minutes 
Yield: 4 to 6 servings 
Make Ahead: Serve immediately 
Difficulty: Easy