Braised carrots are one of my favorite vegetables; or at least I should say, I love braised carrots when they are done right! For me, carrots are the best when they are balanced between savory and the natural sweetness is slightly enhanced, and slightly soft as well as slightly crunchy, definitely not mushy; that’s when they are done right! For me, perfectly balanced braised carrots are almost as universal as mashed potatoes; in other words, they go great with just about any protein.
You will notice that my recipe calls for coconut palm sugar. If you haven’t tried this, I cannot recommend it enough. I was turned on to it because it is a natural sweetener that is low glycemic. Regarding the glycemic index, brown sugar falls at 64 where coconut palm sugar comes in at a low 35, and if you have sugar issues, I highly recommend it! It is very similar to brown sugar; however, brown sugar it just a tad sweeter, so keep that in mind as you are using it. When I first began to use it, I would taste the batter, and every once it a blue moon, I would have to use just a tad more to create the sweetness that I was looking for, but those times were rare. I now use it in many recipes where a recipe calls for the use of brown sugar. I have even used it in place of traditional sugar. I have even used it in pancakes, waffles, pies and even breads. I began to use it because the sugar content in pancakes and waffles often send my husband Nirish’s blood sugar crashing after a breakfast or dinner of those items. Now that I have begun using it in place of brown sugar, Nirish has not had a sugar crash. Coconut palm sugar is a universal product and can be found at just about any grocery store, in the same area as brown sugar, agave and such.
Gluten Free Braised Carrots Ingredients:
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Carrots
- 2-4 tbsp Butter
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Vedam’s Seasoning Blend
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 heaping tbsp Brown Sugar or Coconut Palm Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1/2 tsp Dried Parsley
- 1/2 cup Chicken or Vegetable Stock
- Fresh Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Wash and peel carrots. Slice carrots to be diagonal disks about 1/2” thick, or about 2.5 - 4” long strips, and then cut again and again until they are similar to the size of French fries. It does not really matter how you cut them, as long as they are approximately all the same size so that they cook uniformly.
- Using a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on medium heat. Place carrot strips into pan and season with all spices except parsley, stirring or shaking pan to distribute evenly.
- Pour enough stock to have about 3/4” - 1” of fluid in sauce pan. Cover and reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove lid, stirring again, and then taste for seasoning and tenderness; if needed, add more spice. When tenderness has been almost reached, reduce heat to low and leave uncovered for approximately 5 - 10 more minutes to allow to reduce by half.
- When done, sprinkle with fresh parsley, and serve.
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