I’ve have never been huge fans of cooked carrots. But, like all of life’s problems, food or otherwise, I always find sugar and/or hard liquor are an excellent solution. This recipe takes a page from both.
Sure, they’re supposed to be great for you’re eyesight, but (not to be dramatic) I’d would normally rather be stabbed in the eyes than see these on my dinner plate.
Plus, this normally blah vegetable now utilizes another one of my favorite things: fire. Having grown up an aspiring pyromaniac, I love lighting hard liquor on fire almost as much as I like drinking it. Proceed with caution. There’s no point in dazzling your dinner guests if you burn off your bangs in the process.
Place the carrots and enough water to halfway cover them in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Cook, uncovered, to desired tenderness, 20-30 minutes. Drain carrots and set aside. Return empty pan to burner and lower to medium heat. Add bourbon. Cook until reduced by half, about a minute. Carefully light with a match to burn off the excess alcohol. Once the flame has burned out, add the carrots back to the pan and stir. Pour the maple syrup over carrots and sauté until reduced, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and toss in butter and pepper.
serves 4-6