Name: Carrots Braised with Cider and Thyme
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 2 tbsp sunflower oil; 600 g carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal into 2cm chunks; 350 ml cider (or half wine and half vegetable stock); 30 g butter; leaves from 4 large thyme sprigs; salt and black pepper

The trick with braising carrots is to use just enough liquid to cook them through, but not so much that they’re swimming in it. By the time the carrots have cooked the liquid should have evaporated, leaving the carrots glistening in a buttery glaze. We use a great cider called Ashridge, made just up the hill from the farm in Devon. If you don’t have any cider, you could replace it with a mixture of wine and vegetable stock.