Why It Works

Cutting carrots into thin fingers, rather than coins or chunks, creates more crisp, browned edges.

Wildflower honey in the glaze lends a floral depth to the carrots.

Aged balsamic gives the glaze some complex acidity to balance the sweetness of the carrots and honey.

While there are plenty of complex, show-stopping recipes in Domenica Marchetti ‘s new cookbook, The Glorious Vegetables of Italy , the recipes in which she truly shines are often the simple pantry-based ones. Take these roasted carrots : Instead of slicing the carrots into coins or chunks, Marchetti cuts them into elegant thin fingers. (This technique also happily increases the ratio of crisp browned parts to soft interior parts.) She tosses the carrots in a potent mixture of olive oil, balsamic, and honey before throwing them in a hot oven until they’ve turned spotty brown and just barely tender. The floral honey complements the natural sweetness of the carrots, and balsamic adds zip to keep the sugar in check.…