Sauteed Carrots with Fried Sage

I don't usually cook carrots. In fact, most of the time I'm more of a raw, fresh vegetable kind of person--something I definitely get from my mom. I would be very satisfied with a big, colorful salad for dinner. Recently, though, I've been discovering the joys of steamed and roasted veggies. Until now, I've mostly stuck to my standbys--broccoli and eggplant. You know, I've just had more than my fair share of overcooked, mushy bland vegetables--especially carrots. Yuck.

Well, I can't tell you exactly why, but I was flipping through one of the four food magazines I'd acquired well before Thanksgiving and I decided to make this carrot side dish on Turkey Day. Carrots and sage---two ingredients with which I rarely cook. Maybe it was the simplicity of the recipe. Closer to Thanksgiving, I went back to find this recipe and for the life of me could not located it. I flipped through every magazine I had and nothing. I somehow had recycled the one magazine with my side dish recipes! (And, don't get me started on trying to find sage in the days before Thanksgiving--everybody was out!)

I was lucky enough to find the missing recipe online (though not before searching the Cooking Light website very, very diligently. What is up with their hard to navigate interface?!) and some sage after work on Thanksgiving day. Anyway, it was all smooth sailing from there. I tweaked their instructions a bit and fried the sage in the butter and oil (um, why exactly do they call it Cooking LIGHT?) first, which cooks the sage lightly and also flavors the fats with it's sage-iness. Such savory goodness! The carrots then absorb all of this wonderful flavor and develop their own satisfying sweetness. This would be an excellent side dish anytime.

Sauteed Carrots with Fried Sage

~Print Recipe~

• 1 tablespoon butter (use Earth Balance to make this vegan)
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 2 tablespoons (or more to taste) small fresh sage leaves (or larger leaves, torn in half or quarters)
  
• 3 heaping cups diagonally sliced carrot
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan and stir to mix. Stir in sage leaves and fry for 1 minute, or until lightly crisp. Remove leaves, draining excess oil back into the pan, and set aside. 
2. Add carrots and water to skillet. Stir to coat with oil. Partially cover and cook 10 minutes or until carrots are almost tender.
3. Add salt and pepper to pan. Increase heat to medium-high heat. Cook 4 minutes or until carrots are tender and lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add sage back in and stir. Serve immediately.

(Serves 4 as a side dish)