Hasselback carrots with honey and rosemary

Name: Hasselback carrots with honey and rosemary
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 2 carrots; 2 tsps olive oil; Rosemary; 30 ml honey; Sea salt; Ground black pepper

Hasselback carrots with honey and rosemary are a colourful and attractive side dish. They are packed with flavour and are surprisingly easy to make.

Two hasselback carrots on a plate with herb garnish.

Roasted hasselback carrots make a perfect accompaniment to many dishes including quinoa nut roast and vegetarian shepherds pie. They can be prepared ahead of time for convenience ready to be cooked alongside the rest of your meal.

This roast carrot recipe is sufficient for two servings as a side dish but can easily be adjusted to make whatever quantity you wish to make.

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Ingredients

2 medium sized carrots
A drizzle of olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary to chop and sprinkle on the carrots
Additional sprigs of rosemary to cook alongside the carrots (optional)
About 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) runny honey
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt

Two carrots, a jug of olive oil, honey and seasoning.

How to prepare hasselback carrots

Gently simmer or steam the whole carrots for around 10 minutes. Here I used carrots about 18cm (7") long, if you use carrots which are significantly smaller or larger you will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Place the carrots on the chopping board and carefully cut slits roughly half way through the width of the carrots on one side, about 0.5cm apart (0.2"), taking care not to cut the whole way through.

Two carrots with slits to prepare hasselback carrots.

Place the carrots in the ovenproof bowl with the cut side uppermost. Pour a little olive oil over each carrot, then sprinkle a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper over the top.

Drizzle honey over the top of each carrot.

Chop the the leaves of one sprig of rosemary and sprinkle on top. If you have anymore sprigs of rosemary they can be placed in the bowl alongside the carrots.

Bake the hasselback carrots at 200^oC, 400^oF, gas mark 6 for around 30 minutes or until cooked through. When the carrots are cooked they will be soft enough to pierce easily with a fork and the slits will open slightly to give an attractive appearance.

Two hasselback carrots and fresh rosemary on a plate.

Variations

You don't have to stick to this hasselback carrots recipe, you could follow the same method but experiment with other ingredients. Here are just a few ideas:

Try substituting maple syrup, freshly squeezed orange juice or a knob of butter in place of the honey.
Other herbs could be used, either fresh or dried, including parsley, thyme, oregano, dill or fennel.
Spice up the carrots with a little ginger, either ground or fresh, or paprika or cinnamon.
And for those of you with a sweet tooth, you could try a sprinkling of Demerara to enhance the flavour.

Tips

This recipe can easily be adjusted to prepare any quantity of hasselback carrots you wish to cook.
Try to select carrots of a similar size to each other so that they will have a similar cooking time.
If you use either smaller or larger carrots you will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Hasselback carrots with honey can be cooked ahead of time, covered and reheated when needed for convenience.

FAQs

What are Hasselback vegetables?

Hasselback vegetables are vegetables which have a series of cuts part way through and are roasted, typically with the addition of other ingredients. Hasselback takes its name from the Hasselbacken Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden where this method was first used to prepare hasselback potatoes.

Do you need a special tool to cut hasselback vegetables?

The simple answer is no. So long as you are careful not to cut the whole way through the carrots (or whatever other vegetable you are preparing) all you will need is a sharp knife and a chopping board. However, some people find it helps to use two chopsticks (one either side of the carrot) or the handles of two wooden spoons to stop the knife cutting the whole way through.

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