Glazed carrots

Your cut-out-and-keep guide to the fundamentals of cooking

The best carrots come at the beginning of the season when they are young and sweet. This year’s bad winter pushed the season a little later than normal, so now is a great time for young carrots.

When you’re making glazed carrots, you are using the cooking liquor in your pot from start to finish. You will be reducing what’s in the pot to create the glaze. So don’t have too much cooking liquor to begin with. The carrots should only be just about covered with water.

I would advise on carrots that have been grown chemical-free, but not necessarily certified organic. The quality of the product always comes down to the quality of the grower. The most discernible difference comes down to Irish in-season against imported out-of-season. The difference is incomparable.

For glazed carrots that are a cut above, garnish them with a herb that has an aniseed flavour. Fennel or chervil work really well, and give the carrots a real punch in flavour. Remember, a little goes a long way — you don’t want to impact on the flavour of the carrot, but to simply enhance it.

At this time of year, I love glazed carrots with mackerel. Another favourite is a light lunch with lamb’s lettuce, a poached egg, and some Ardsallagh goat’s feta-style cheese.

You can cook glazed carrots by just covering them with apple juice instead of water. This adds a new dimension of flavour, and it is perfect for glazing — when the juice is reduced, the natural sugars will caramelise to create the perfect glaze.