A few weeks ago I made this Onion and Fennel Bisque, which called for a whole two tablespoons of Pernod. While the soup was quite good - I actually liked the fennel in it and I don’t tend to enjoy fennel - I wondered what else to use the rest of the 750ml bottle in.

Google didn’t reveal much, mostly meat recipes, but I did come across one appealing recipe for Fresh Spinach with Leeks in Pernod, which I slightly modified and paired with some cumin spiced white bean and rice patties for a quick one dish meal (quick after the beans & rice are cooked of course) . . .

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Making your own veggie stock from scraps is extremely easy. Just save all of your vegetable trimmings in a gallon freezer bag. You can use onion skin & roots, carrot tops, potato peelings, fresh herbs that have started to turn, garlic peel etc. Just make sure to avoid bitter vegetables like cabbage, brussel sprouts and broccoli.

When your freezer bag is full, empty it into a large stock pot and toss the veggie scraps with a bit of vermouth, sherry, or white wine as well as some tamari or diluted miso. Add a couple of bay leaves and water just to cover. Bring to the boil and then simmer lightly until the desired state is reached. You could simmer for a couple of hours & just use the stock as is immediatlly. I simmer the stock for seven hours until the liquid has greatly reduced & then I freeze it in ice-cube trays and use it more like bouillon cubes.