Honey-Glazed Carrots with Dates and Pecans
This Honey-Glazed Carrots with Dates and Pecans recipe elevates the humble carrot to new heights. The dish bursts with sweet, savoury, and nutty flavours, all enveloped in a honey-kissed glaze.
Charming Honey-Glazed Carrots Covered in Nature’s Nectar
The ordinary carrot is roasted to perfection until it becomes tender yet retains its delightful bite. These vibrant orange gems are then enveloped in a honey glaze, creating a compelling contrast between the sweetness of the honey and the earthy notes of the carrots. Beyond their vibrant orange hue and natural sweetness, here’s why carrots are the perfect side dish for your Christmas table:
- Carrots boast a natural sweetness that pairs beautifully with various flavours. They complement the richness of roasted meats, the savoury notes of grilled fish, and the hearty flavours of stews and casseroles.
- Carrots bring a satisfying crunch, adding texture to any dish. Whether roasted, sautéed, or steamed, carrots retain their delightful bite, providing a lovely contrast to softer ingredients.
- Carrots are a nutritional powerhouse packed with essential nutrients, including vitamin A, crucial for vision and immune function.
Adding a Touch of Sweetness with Nature's Candy
Roasting dates add a layer of sophistication and sweetness to our dish. Sprinkling a bit of olive oil over the dates before roasting them results in the dates being delightfully crispy on the outside. At the same time, the natural sugars caramelise, leaving the dates soft and gooey in the centre, like a chewy caramel.. The olive oil contributes its fruity notes, and a sprinkle of flaked salt enhances the overall texture, perfectly complementing the carrots.
The Nutty Crunch of Pecans
To add a delightful crunch to this culinary symphony, we introduce pecans, drizzled in fruity olive oil, and honey, and roasted until they release their warm, nutty aroma. These gems provide a lovely textural contrast to the soft carrots and dates, adding richness and complexity to the dish.
Honey-Glazed Carrots with Dates and Pecans: A Nod to TheMiddle East
We add a touch of Middle Eastern elegance, in the form of tahini, to complement the sweet and savoury components of the honey-glazed carrots, dates and pecans. The sesame-spiked yoghurt adds a luxurious creaminess to the dish, a cool balm against the warm roasted carrots. A nutty, savoury element in contrast to the sweet flavours.
The tahini yoghurt introduces a layer of sophistication to a meal that might otherwise feel a little too sweet, and rather ordinary. It transforms a simple dish into layers of complex flavours, each bite, building, complimenting and contrasting the overall flavours.
Finally, we top the dish with fresh dill or parsley for brightness. The honey-glazed carrots with dates and pecans become a visual and flavourful feast perfect for Christmas or Thanksgiving.
Rate your Honey-Glazed Carrots with Dates and Pecans
Have you made our Honey-Glazed Carrots with Dates and Pecans? We’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you want to try more dishes with a vibrant orange hue, don’t miss our Sticky Roasted Carrots with Tahini Yoghurt or Honey and Herb-Infused Sweet Potato Bake.
Your feedback is our secret ingredient, so share your experience in the comments, rate the recipes, and don’t forget to tag your creations with #theculinarycartel on Instagram so we can see what you come up with.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this gluten-free?
This dish is gluten-free! Enjoy!
Is this recipe suitable for vegans?
You can create a deliciously satisfying vegan dish that’s fit for any celebratory meal by simply substituting maple syrup for honey and plant-based yoghurt for dairy yoghurt.
What is tahini?
Similar in concept to peanut butter, tahini is a nutty sesame paste made from lightly toasted sesame seeds.
Honey-Glazed Carrots with Dates and Pecans: A Sweet-Savory Fusion
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This recipe elevates the humble carrot by adding the rich, caramelised goodness of roast dates and the nutty crunch of salty pecans; all enveloped in a honey-kissed glaze.
Ingredients
- 600 g of carrots
- 1 tbsp (15g) tahini
- 150 g Greek yoghurt
- 200g Medjool dates
- 70g raw pecan nuts
- 2 tbsp (30g) honey
- One teaspoon of cumin seeds (ground roughly)
- Picked dill or chopped parsley to garnish
- Olive oil, salt and pepper as needed
Instructions
- In the oven:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (356 °F).
In the Air Fryer:
Preheat the air fryer to 165°C (330 °F).
- Peel the carrots and cut them in half. Place the carrots into a roasting tray cut side down, drizzle them in olive oil, salt and pepper. Place your carrots into the air fryer or oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, until softened.
- Take the stones out of the dates, tear them into four chunks and roughly chop the pecan nuts.
- Combine the yoghurt, tahini, and salt and pepper to taste. Add a small splash of water to make the tahini yoghurt a nice spreadable consistency. Set aside
- Once the carrots are soft and starting to turn golden, scoot them over to one side of the roasting dish.
- Add the dates in the space, alongside the carrots. Drizzle the carrots and dates with one tablespoon of honey and one teaspoon of cumin seeds
- Return the dates to the oven for 10 -12 more minutes or until the dates crisp at the edges.
- In a bowl, toss the pecans with a drizzle of oil and the remaining honey. In the last 3 minutes of roasting add the pecans in with the dates. Roast until lightly golden.
- Remove the roasting dish from the oven, and toss some flaked sea salt, if you have, through the dates and pecans.
- Spoon the tahini yoghurt onto a plate, top with your roasted carrots then scatter over the pecans and crispy, sticky dates.
- Finish with a little fresh dill pr chopped parsley and serve
- Prep Time: <15 min
- Cook Time: <30 min
7 Responses
This was an incredible dish! The whole family loved it. Can’t wait to make it for our friends for Christmas 🙂
This was an incredible dish! The whole family loved it. Can’t wait to make it for our friends for Christmas 🙂
Incredible! I hope the entire family loved it!
Looks delicious! How do you serve this? As a side dish? Appetizer with pita?
Make your own adventure! Great with pita as an app for sure, but I also love it alongside lamb chops, my slow cooked lamb or roasted chicken. It’s also great just eaten as is. If you need a little more bulk,adding quinoa or your favourite grain works brilliantly to make it a stand alone veggie meal. Happy cooking x
Hi,
This recipe looks incredible. Should this be served immediately or can this be made ahead? Should it be eaten warm or can it be served cold?
Many thanks.
Hi Olivia, you can make the carrots in advance if you like. For this I would suggest cooking earlier on the day of serving, leaving them at room temperature, then reheating a bit later. To be honest though, it really is going to be the best cooked and served nice and warm. The cool yoghurt, crispy dates, and warm carrots are a lovely contrast.