Carrots With Dill, Agave, and Lemon

So, it's Thanksgiving and the dreaded question I feel I must ask when a friend invites me to dinner:  "Is there anything you'd like me to bring?"  Of course, I hope the answer is no (unless it's a bottle of wine or something).

I offered to bring a vegetable dish and carrots came to mind. I modified the recipe I found at kneadforfood.

Food for Thought:

• The taste and texture of the carrots were very good.  I didn't add any salt or pepper and I thought it could have used some, but other people told me the carrots didn't need any other seasoning.
• I like things simple and this recipe had a significant amount of prep.  Items needed:  A large pot for blanching, a colander for straining, a bowl (I used a large plastic container with lid) for mixing the glaze, a saucepan to make the glaze, and a cookie sheet for the oven.
• I think you could blanch the carrots the night before (and maybe blanching isn't even needed)

Would I make this dish again?  Yes

Ingredients (serving for 8)

3 Bunches of Carrots (with the tops on)
4 Tbs Butter 
4 Tbs Agave nector (you could use honey)
2 Tbs Olive Oil 
Zest from 1 Lemon
Pinch of thyme
Sprigs of Fresh Dill

For Thanksgiving and when you are having guests over, it is all about presentation, right?  So, purchase the carrots with the tops on them (for eating at home, the baby carrots would be okay, and then no peeling needed - how easy is that??)

The first thing to do is to cut the tops off the carrots.  Leave about 1/2" of the greens.

Get some salted water boiling in a large pot to prepare for blanching the carrots.  You'll only be putting in 4 or 5 carrots at a time so you'll be blanching in batches.

Peel the carrots.  There is a ring of "dirt" around the top and I didn't like the way it looked (even though I knew no one was actually going to eat the very top) so I took the tip of my carrot peeler and sort of "carved" out the dirt.

Once the water is boiling, blanch the carrots for 60 – 90 seconds.  Remove the carrots with tongs and place in a colander and run some cold water over the carrots to stop the cooking process.  Be sure NOT to overload the boiling pot of water with too many carrots at one time.

Preheat the oven to 450º

Dry the carrots with a clean paper towel.  You can do this now or when the glaze is cooking.

Make the glaze by combining the agave, butter, olive oil, lemon zest, and thyme in a pan and cooking over medium heat.  It should thicken up a bit and get syrupy.

Once the carrots are dried and the glaze is ready, transfer the carrots to a large bowl and toss with the glaze. (I used a large oblong plastic container with lid and shook and this worked well.)

Once the carrots are covered in glaze, place them on a baking sheet and lay the dill over them.

Roast for 20 – 25 minutes. Discard the dill.  Some of the edges of the carrots will appear to be burned (this is from the glaze) but that is fine.  

Place the carrots in a serving dish and cover with foil until ready to serve. I garnished the serving dish with extra dill.