These Balsamic Roasted Baby Potatoes and Carrots are an easy way to prepare vegetables worthy of entertaining. No ho hum potatoes and carrots going on here!
I found a New Year’s Eve suggested menu in the 2003 Holiday issue of the LCBO’s Food and Drink magazine. They had this as a side dish to a delicious main – Ginger Crusted Roast Pork with Maple Mustard Sauce. The pork and the sauce are both to die for!
This recipe makes entertaining so easy! It has basic ingredients and you can roast the potatoes and carrots on a sheet pan and then transfer to a nice serving dish. Just pop the pan in the oven and go about the rest of your preparations!
The vegetables in the original recipe roasted at 425 degrees but I wanted to serve it with the Ginger Crusted Roast Pork with Maple Mustard Sauce which cooks at 375 degrees so I put them on the top oven rack during the last hour that the roast was cooking. Timing will depend on the size of your vegetables. It may take 60-80 minutes roasting so use your judgment on when to put them in the oven. Being able to make the entire meal in the oven makes it easy-peasy!
The original recipe also suggests that you can make this dish up to 2 days ahead and reheat on the stove top 5-10 minutes just before serving. Make ahead!
If you can’t find baby potatoes then look for medium size red or yellow flesh potatoes and quarter them. Younger potatoes are waxier and creamier so get the smallest available.
I am not a fan of baby carrots unless they are true young carrots. Those cocktail baby carrots are actually large carrots lathed down to look cute. Honestly – who needs that? Ok… maybe there is a convenience factor. But I find they are often a bit musty smelling and tasting. So… I prefer to peel and cut regular carrots into manageable size sticks. Use whichever you like…no judgment here!
I finished them with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt and they were a hit at the table!
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Ingredients
- 3 lbs baby potatoes washed and halved
- 8 medium carrots peeled and cut into equal size lengths, then quartered
- 8 cloves garlic peeled and mashed
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup butter melted (sub olive oil for vegan)
- 1 tsp dried thyme or 8 sprigs fresh
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- sprinkle of sea salt to finish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Line a sheet pan with foil.
- Combine butter, vinegar and spices in a cup. Toss potatoes, carrots and onions in a bowl with the butter mixture to coat.
- Spread vegetables out evenly on the sheet pan. (if using fresh thyme nestle the sprigs among the vegetables). Continue roasting until vegetables are fork tender. This may take 60-90 minutes depending on the size of your vegetables. Check periodically for doneness.
- Remove pan from oven and transfer to a serving dish. Remove fresh thyme sprigs if using. If not serving immediately you can let vegetables cool and refrigerate up to 2 days. Reheat in a large skillet 5-10 minutes before serving.