On the Table: Braised Carrots and Broccoli Stems

The hits just keep on coming with the broccoli stems!  Last night I braised them (along with carrots), and they were absolutely delicious!  I love carrots, but I think I may have like the broccoli stems better in this preperation.  The proportion of broccoli stems to carrots that I used was entirely based on the quantities that I had on hand, but you could do this recipe with all carrots, all broccoli stems, or any combination thereof. 

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Peel carrots and broccoli stems (I used 5 regular sized carrots and three broccoli stems) and slice into one inch pieces.  If parts of the carrots are very thick, you may want to cut them in half.  I had about 4 cups of vegetable pieces.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in an ovenproof pot over medium heat.  When the butter gets hot, add in the carrots and broccoli stems.  Cook for about 5 minutes, just until the vegetables start to cook.  Add into the pot a dash of cayenne pepper, a tablespoon of honey, a dash of salt, and chicken stock to come 2/3 of the way up the vegetables.  Stir thoroughly.  When the liquid comes to a simmer, cover the pot and put it in the preheated oven.  Allow to cook for about 20 minutes, or just until a knife can be inserted easily into the thickest piece of vegetable.  Remove the pot from the oven, remove the lid, and put the pot on the stove over high heat.  Cook, stirring often, until the liquid has been reduced to a glaze, about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!