Slow-cooked vegetables

Use any vegetables you like for this dish. Here Raymond Blanc uses fennel, red onion, violet artichokes, chicory and plenty of garlic cooked slowly to extract the sugars, giving a wonderful flavour and a soft melting texture.

Each serving provides 846kcal, 30g protein, 55g carbohydrate (of which 25g sugars), 52g fat (of which 11g saturates), 16g fibre and 2.2g salt.

By Raymond Blanc
From Raymond Blanc: How to Cook Well

Ingredients

For the braised summer vegetables

  • 90g/3¼oz extra virgin rapeseed oil
  • 20 garliccloves (about 200g/7oz), peeled
  • 1 red onion, quartered, keeping the stalk end intact
  • 1 fennel, quartered
  • 4 violet artichokehearts
  • 2 baby chicory, halved
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 sprigs thyme
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 sageleaves
  • 80g/3oz balsamic vinegar, preferably aged 8 years

For the garnish

  • 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
  • 30g/1oz parmesanshavings
  • 50g/1¾oz air-dried ham(such as Bayonne or Parma ham), torn
  • 6 rye breadcroûtons