How about a 3 steps delicious low calorie side dish for dinner — a French classic braised carrots side dish? Check our detailed recipe and Art of the Home suggestions below. Enjoy and bon appétit!!!
Braised Carrots (Carottes à l’étuvée)
INGREDIENTS (for 4 servings)
- About 12 carrots (count 3 carrots per serving for a satisfying side dish)
- About 1.5-2 cups of water (or enough to barely cover the carrots)
- About 1-2 TBSP of butter
- 1 TBSP sugar
- 3 Pinches of salt & 1 pinch of pepper (less salt needed if you use salted butter)
DIRECTIONS
- Peel carrots and cut in small rounds
- In a saucepan or cast iron pot (Le Creuset for example), add the carrots and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
- After about 5-10 min, add sugar, butter, salt and pepper. Stir occasionally to ensure the carrots don’t stick to the bottom.
- Simmer covered, stirring from time to time, under low to medium heat for about 30 minutes (or until carrots are tender). Heat should be high enough to maintain a gentle boil.
- Taste to check for proper seasoning. Add salt and/or pepper if needed.
.
A FEW SUGGESTIONS:
- Make it ahead of time — This is a great dish to prepare ahead. It freezes well too. So you can double the recipe and freeze half and have this side dish available for dinner a few weeks later.
- Meat suggestions — This dish goes well with any meat but it is especially a good combination with a pork roast. And for a quick weekday meal, serve it with a couple of rolled up slices of ham, very easy.
- Herbs — Feel free to sprinkle some chopped parsley to add some color.
- Leftovers — Reheat with heavy cream or crème fraîche and you just created a new dish, “Carottes à la Crème” (Carrots in Cream).