Simple Sauteed Carrots & Fennel

I recently drove a few towns over to a fancy grocery looking for Dutch-processed cocoa to use in my quest to find a delicious homemade hot chocolate mix, and I came across these gorgeous carrots:

Aren't they fantastic? I may have squee'd ever so softly when I saw them. I was so excited I had to buy some. I wanted to use them in a way that highlighted their amazing colors, so I just sauteed them in a pan with some chopped fennel and a bit of olive oil. And butter. It's a simple, fast way to prepare carrots for a side dish. 

We put in a huge garden area when we built our house, and I'm so excited to add these to our list of things we'll grow. Love. Them. Fennel and carrots are both spring and fall veggies, so if you plant a garden you can plant both at the same time to be able to enjoy together.

Simple Sauteed Carrots & Fennel

printable recipe

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 small bulb fennel, chopped (remove core before chopping)
6 medium carrots, scraped and sliced about 1/4" thick
kosher salt and fresh cracked white pepper to taste
2 teaspoons butter
chopped fennel fronds for garnish, if desired

Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet until hot. Add the fennel and carrots and cook, stirring often, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the salt and pepper, and continue cooking, stirring often until the vegetables are tender and starting to brown, about 5 more minutes. Add the butter to the skillet and stir until melted. Serve sprinkled with chopped fennel fronds, if desired.

Makes 4 side-dish servings.