Braised spring vegetables

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 4 bunch of spring onions
• 10 vine tomatoes, larger
• 4 cl Pernod
• 4 cl liqueur (Anice forte) or Sambuca
• ¼ liter white wine, dry
• ½ liter of water
• 2 tbsp, heaped vegetable stock powder
• 3 tbsp, heaped herbs of Provence
• 3 dashes of Tabasco
• 4 cl olive oil
• Pepper from the mill
• 1 tbsp sugar, optional
• 1 baguette(s)

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 10 minutes

Clean the spring onions and trim the tips. Fry them in olive oil until they start to brown. Remove them from the pan and add them to a casserole dish. Wash the tomatoes, halve them, and remove the stems. Fry them in the same olive oil. Remove them from the pan and add them to the casserole dish. Sprinkle the herbs de Provence and pepper over the vegetables. Deglaze the pan with Pernod and Anice and bring to a boil to evaporate the alcohol. If the tomatoes are not fully ripe, add 1 tablespoon of sugar at this point. Then add the white wine and water and bring to a boil with the vegetable stock. If you want it a bit spicier, add a few dashes of Tabasco. Then pour everything over the vegetables. The vegetables should be covered in the pot. Braise in a hot oven at 160°C (fan oven) for 90 minutes. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime, briefly toast a rustic baguette in the oven. We eat it as a main course, but it also works well as a vegetarian starter. It’s easy to prepare, tastes even better reheated, and I love dipping the white bread into the sauce.