Honey-Balsamic Roasted Carrots
This slam-dunk recipe from Domenica Marchetti’s The Glorious Vegetables of Italy beautiful combines both savory and sweet flavors.
Ingredients:
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Put carrots in a large roasting pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, honey and 2 teaspoons vinegar. Pour over carrots. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and a generous grinding of pepper. Toss gently to combine.
3. Roast carrots for 10 minutes; toss, roast for 15 minutes more, or until carrots are tender and browned in spots.
4. Transfer to serving platter and sprinkle with a few additional drops of vinegar and a dash of sea salt.
Whipped Crème Fraîche
A simply-stunning topping for this week’s gingerbread loaf, or any holiday pie you have in mind.
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup crème fraîche
1 tablespoon granulated sugar*
Method:
1. Chill the bowl of a stand mixer and the whisk attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes.
2. Place all of the ingredients in the bowl and whisk on high speed until medium peaks form, about 1 to 2 minutes. (Alternatively, you can use a hand whisk and a large chilled bowl. Whisk all of the ingredients until medium peaks form, about 5 to 6 minutes.) Serve immediately.
* Feel free to sub in your favorite sweetener here; our favorites are honey or even a splash of bourbon maple syrup!
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Corn & Roasted Sweet Onions
Roasted sweet onion adds a wonderful depth of flavor to this refreshing salad.
Ingredients:
2 sweet onions, peeled and sliced into ½-inch-thick rings
2 heirloom tomatoes, chopped
2 small ears of corn, shucked, blanched and kernels removed
1 scallion, diced
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
10 basil leaves, thinly sliced
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange the sliced onion rings on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt, tossing to coat onions on both sides. Roast for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through until onions are brown and soft. Remove from onion, allow to cool, then roughly chop.
2. In a large bowl, add the chopped tomatoes, corn kernels and scallion. Add roasted onions and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together honey with sherry vinegar, then add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper then whisk well to combine. Drizzle dressing over the salad to taste and top with basil.
Baked Feta with Honey
A kick of honey lends a sweet touch to the salty cheese; serve with grilled bread crostini!
Ingredients:
1 8-ounce block sheep’s milk feta, blotted dry with a paper towel
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
Fresh ground pepper
Grilled bread crostini
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Place the feta in a small baking dish and drizzle the olive oil over the top. Bake until the cheese is soft to the touch, but not melted, about 8 minutes.
2. Remove the feta from the oven and preheat the broiler. Drizzle the honey over the cheese, and then return to the oven and broil until the cheese is golden brown and bubble, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and season generously with pepper. Serve immediately with the grilled bread crostini.
