Orange-Braised Carrots & Parsnips

Ingredients

Prep

• Carrots - scrub or peel and trim greens
• Parsnips - scrub or peel and cut to match size of carrots
• Shallot - dice
• Oranges - zest to yield 2 tbl, juice to yield 1 1/4 cups
• Thyme - tie sprigs together with kitchen string — do this now so future-you can feel smug for once.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Place the carrots and parsnips in a pot or Dutch oven, that's large enough for the vegetables to lie falt. Add the shallots, orange zest, 3/4 cup of the orange juice, the olive oil, thyme and (optional) pinch of red pepper flakes as well as 2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Place the pot on the stove and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover tightly with a lid or heavy-duty foil. Transfer to the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours, until the carrots and parsnips are very tender. Discard the thyme bundle. Sprinkle with the remainig 1/2 cup of orange juice and the parsley and season to taste, like a person who has absolutely never panicked over onions. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.