This stovetop steamed and seared carrot and radish recipe tastes delicious and looks vibrant. Top seared carrots and radishes with a carrot top pesto and garnish with goat cheese.
Pan cooked carrots and radishes are perfect for a fresh bunch of small carrots with the tops still on. Watermelon and Purple Plum radishes are pictured but any radish variety can be used.
How To Cook Carrots and Radishes Stovetop
Pan frying crispy carrots and radishes is easy (especially after a try or two).
Cook the carrots first and then move on to the radishes next because the pan will not be big enough to cook both at the same time.
Add a couple inches of liquid and a bit of salt into a large shallow pan and bring to a boil. Add carrots first.
Reduce heat to a simmer and cover and cook until carrots are a little crispier than desired tenderness. Drain off the water if necessary. Turn up the heat to medium high and add some oil or butter to caramelize the edges.
Plate carrots and put in a warm oven at 175F to keep warm. Repeat with radishes.
Optional Garnishes for Cooked Carrots and Radishes
This is an easy and delicious carrot and radish recipe but you can take it up a notch and add crumbled chèvre (goat cheese).
Take it up another level and make carrot top pesto. Recipe below. Waste not, want not.
Tips For Cooking Stovetop Carrots and Radishes
Butter burns easy. If your carrots or radishes start to burn after you add the butter, reduce the heat (or take off the heat) and add a touch of olive oil and/or an ice cube to cool the pan down.
When you get better at the method of cooking with liquid first, and pan frying in oil/butter/fat last, then you will be able to estimate how much water you will need for your pan and when to take off the lid to burn off the excess water instead of having to drain it. Practice makes perfect. 👍
Making a huge batch? Save some time: Preheat the oven to 400F. Leave the carrots whole. Add all ingredients (not pesto) to a baking dish, cover and cook ~ 25 minutes or until tender. Uncover and roast ~ 20 minutes or until liquid has evaporated and carrots are starting to brown.
Things In My Kitchen:
- Food Processor - Affordable "work horse" blender.
- Blender - Any blender will work, but I love my vitamix.
- Zester - For zestin' the orange.
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Stovetop Cooked Carrots And Radishes
EatSimpleFood.com
This stovetop steamed and seared carrot and radish recipe tastes delicious and looks vibrant. Top seared carrots and radishes with a carrot top pesto and garnish with goat cheese (chèvre).
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 bunch small carrots with tops (~ ¾ lb), halved leaving ½" of the stem
- 5 Watermelon radishes (~ ⅓ lb), quartered leaving ½" of the stem
- 5 Purple Plum radishes (~ ⅓ lb), quartered leaving ½" of the stem
- 1 orange, zested & juiced (~¾ cup)
- water
- 1 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- chèvre (goat cheese), optional as garnish
Ingredient List Pesto (makes 2 cups):
- Green tops of carrots
- ¼ cup pecans
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon (~ 1 inch) ginger
- 1 orange (~¾ cup), juiced
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
Directions Carrots and Radishes:
- Zest
the orange and set aside.
- Add a couple of inches of water, orange juice, and ¼ teaspoon salt to a large shallow pan.
- Add carrots in a single layer with the flat side down. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered until carrots are crisper than desired tenderness (~ 5-8 minutes depending on size of the carrots).
- Drain any excess water, if needed, and add ¾ tablespoon unsalted butter to the carrots/pan. Increase heat to medium high and cook uncovered until the carrots start to caramelize ~ 2-3 minutes.
- Repeat the same process with the quartered radishes. You may need to do this in batches if your pan is not big enough (wiping in between because the butter may have gotten dark). Don't cook the watermelon radishes with the purple radishes in the pan or it will turn them purple.
the orange and set aside.Directions Optional Carrot Top Pesto:
- Add all ingredients except olive oil into blender
or food processor
. Slowly add olive oil through the feed tube. Add salt to taste.
or 
. Slowly add olive oil through the feed tube. Add salt to taste.Top carrots and radishes with the pesto if you made it or just the orange zest if you didn't have time for that step. Add goat cheese if desired. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
- Can't find purple radishes? No problem, just use regular radishes instead.
- Butter burns easy. If your carrots start to burn after you add the butter, reduce the heat (or take off) and add a touch of olive oil.
- When you get better at the method of cooking with liquid first, and pan frying in oil/butter/fat last, then you will be able to estimate how much water you will need for your pan and when to take off the lid to burn off the excess water instead of having to drain it.
- Making a huge batch? Save some time: Preheat the oven to 400F. Leave the carrots whole. Add all ingredients (not pesto) to a baking dish, cover and cook ~ 25 minutes or until tender. Uncover and roast ~ 20 minutes or until liquid has evaporated and carrots are starting to brown.
Serving Suggestion
Serve this gorgeous roasted carrots and radish dish with turkey and cranberry sauce for a delicious Thanksgiving Feast. You can also add another complementary side dish to add more colors and flavors.
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