Delicious Side Dish Recipe:
I don’t know about you, but my frustrations in making dinner often have to do with what side dishes to serve (especially during the holidays!) You can only cook potatoes, veggies and rice so many ways. And my family gets tired of me making the same old things. So this Asparagus and Carrots with Maple Butter Sauce recipe is a keeper. The maple butter sauce adds just enough pizzazz to the veggies to make them exciting to eat! Think of this recipe when you are making Easter or Thanksgiving dinner. And it’s a good one for entertaining with friends too. If you’re making it home just for your smaller family for a weeknight meal, cut the recipe in half because the recipe as written is designed to make 10 servings.
Ingredients needed:
carrots with fronds on top asparagus butter maple syrup cider vinegar chili powder salt
How to make Asparagus and Carrots with Maple Butter:
This is a very simple recipe to make. First, trim and peel the carrots. Leave the fronds on, basically because that makes them look fancy. If you don’t care about fronds, you can just buy regular carrots and cut off the tops. Boil the carrots until they’re crisp-tender. Then drain them. The sauce is a simple mix of melted butter, maple syrup, cider vinegar, chili powder and salt. It’s heated together in a small saucepan. Add the partially cooked carrots to a skillet with trimmed asparagus.
How to trim asparagus:
The woody, tough ends of asparagus should be cut off before cooking. Hold the end of the asparagus between your fingers and bend it. The asparagus will snap naturally where the woody part meets the good part. Do this for each one, and you’ll have perfectly trimmed asparagus!
Combine the asparagus and carrots with maple butter in the skillet. Bring the maple butter to a simmer, and simmer until the asparagus are crisp-tender.
Move the asparagus and carrots to a platter. Spoon the maple butter sauce on top.
And there’s your simple, yet impressive, recipe for Asparagus and Carrots with Maple Butter ready to serve. Enjoy! You might also like to try my recipe for Steamed Asparagus with Almond Butter or these Oven Roasted Carrots.
