Glazed Carrots with Tarragon

Tarragon is called the "King of Herbs" by the French, but I'm not quite sure I'm on board with that. I have heard of tarragon and know that I've never grown it, but I thought I had cooked with it before. However when I recently made Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Apple and Tarragon it seems to be the first time I really remember tasting it. I was surprised at the licorice-type flavor, like a mild anise. And even though I wasn't too happy with that soup, I decided to give tarragon another try.

I had pulled down my copy of Padma Lakshmi's Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet cookbook recently and fell up this recipe for Glazed Carrots with Tarragon. The photo looked so tasty and I think I have a new thing for carrots lately so I knew I had to try it. I think it's fun buying carrots with the big long greens on the top. That is somewhat new to me because I used to by them already shredded or whole ones in a bag. But I feel very natural buying the whole carrots and peeling them is kind of meditative.

We were all thrilled with these carrots! And we all had a second impression on tarragon. They went perfectly with the carrots and there was no over powering licorice flavor this time. Making glazed carrots is always fun because I love it as the carrots cook up with all the butter, and the touch of maple syrup make is fun. The whole house smells great while these are cooking and we loved them so much we wish I doubled the recipe!

Glazed Carrots with Tarragon Serves 4 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon butter ½ cup finely diced onion 1½ pounds young carrots, scraped and sliced 1 inch thick diagonally ⅓ cup loosely packed fresh tarragon 1½ teaspoons maple syrup ⅓ teaspoon salt

Heat a deep skillet on medium heat; add the oil and butter. When the butter is melted but not burned, add the onions. Lower the heat if the butter starts to burn, and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the carrots, and continue to stir for 6 to 7 minutes, depending upon the width of the carrots.

Add the tarragon leaves, ripping them apart as you add them to the skillet. Drizzle the maple syrup into the skillet, add salt to taste, and stir the carrots until they are glazed uniformly, cooking approximately 3 to 4 minutes more. Serve as a side dish.

Honestly, I made this recipe with Weekend Herb Blogging in mind because fresh tarragon was an herb that seemed new to me or something I hadn't worked with in a while. Look for more herb recipes at Mele Cotte who is hosting this week's Weekend Herb Blogging roundup.