Vegan Asian style roasted carrots

I had some adorable dutch carrots in my fridge (the small ones with the stems and leaves still attached) and I wanted to do something fancy with them. 

I had a look on Google to see what I could find, but a lot of the recipes were the same old honey glazed recipes, and I thought that might be a bit boring. Plus I don't eat honey. 

I wanted to try something different but wasn't having too much luck. I eventually found a recipe on The Greedy Pepper for maple and sesame glazed dutch carrots. This gave me some inspiration to come up with my own new spin on roasted carrots. 

I pretty much just threw some of my favourite Asian flavour combinations to make a lovely glaze. When they came out of the oven, my brother was lured into the kitchen by the sweet aroma. When I asked if he wanted some, he wasn't too keen because they were carrots and he's not a huge vegetable fan, but he still had a bite anyways.

He ended up really liking them and even ate a few more carrots afterwards. I love it when kids eat their veggies. 

Asian style maple glazed carrots (vegan)

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 bunch dutch carrots, washed (leave a bit of the stems on the carrots for display)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon freshly minced lemongrass
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line baking tray with baking paper.
Combine all ingredients into a bowl and coat carrots.
Transfer carrots onto baking tray and cook in oven for about 20 minutes. 

These carrots would go great as a side to pretty much any dish. I just threw together some red onion, tomatoes, vegan sausages and spaghetti as my dinner tonight.