We have a dead-simple recipe for carrots on Saucy Dressings involving cooking them in butter, honey and orange juice.

And for special occasions we also have this slightly more involved approach, which really brings out the sweetness of the carrots.

You will have some green carrot tops left over. DON’T WASTE THEM. Follow this link for John Stolarczyk’s carrot pesto recipe (it’s right at the bottom of the post).

Recipe for Charlotte’s caramelised carrots

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 x bunches of carrots with their leafy tops
• 100g/3 oz butter
• 100g/3 oz beef dripping
• 3 tbsps honey
• 2 onions
• 60g/⅔ cup roughly chopped walnuts (or pecans)
• 2 tbsps maple syrup
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• smoked salt and a pinch of Urfa pepper flakes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Add the beef dripping to a medium roasting tin and put in the oven to get hot.
2. Peel and cut each onion into eight segments (lengthways). Put into a frying pan and fry in a couple of tbsps. of olive oil, very gently, for about half an hour.
3. Meanwhile cut the carrot tops off, leaving a couple of cm/½” of green stem still attached. Roughly peel the carrots with a potato peeler, and if they are thick, cut lengthways, either in half, or if giant, in quarters. Put them in the roasting tin with the hot dripping for 15 minutes, stirring to coat with the dripping.
4. Add another tablespoon of olive oil, add the walnuts in a section of the frying pan, and fry on a slightly higher heat, for three or four minutes, add the maple syrup to the walnuts, stir to coat, and then mix together with the onions.
5. When the carrots have been roasting for 15 minutes, take them out and add the butter and honey. Return to the oven for another five minutes. Then take out and add to the mixture in the frying pan.
6. Reduce down any juices to become syrupy. Season. Serve.