Braised Spring Onions Are the Perfect Cheap Weeknight Side Dish

I have been trying to eat more vegetables, green things, and plant parts that aren’t potatoes. It’s going about how you would expect (good, not great). I did incorporate some pan-fried delicata squash into my breakfast a few days ago, but I need something green. Luckily, I happened to stumble on Molly Stevens’ butter-braised spring onions while browsing Food52.

These green onions are the perfect weeknight vegetable side. Quick, hands-off, and packed with flavour, all you have to do is trim some spring onions, throw them in a pan with water and butter, cover that pan, and let them braise until tender and fragrant. Remove the covering and let the ends get nice and browned, and you’ll be rewarded with a wonderland of textures and flavours.

The bulbs braise up juicy and a buttery, almost melting in your mouth, while the green ends darken, nearly burning, into savoury crispy bits that offer a bit of contrast for the bulbs. It’s perfect.

I didn’t stick to Stevens’ ratios exactly. I, a woman who lives alone most of the time, did not feel like braising and eating five bunches of green onions, so I scaled down to two, but still used a full two tablespoons of butter (I gotta be me). I also ommitted the taragon, because I didn’t have any. In spite of that, they turned out great.

Once your spring onions are braised, you can eat them on the side of any protein you wish, chop them up and distribute them through some rice or pasta, or mince and mix them into a dip or dressing. I also think they’d be great on an egg sandwich: Cut ‘em up into manageable pieces, mix them into a little mayo, and spread it on toast before building the rest of your BEC.

Easy braised spring onions for one (lightly adapted from Molly Stevens’ recipe)

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches of spring onions (about 14)
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons salted butter, cut into small 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 three-finger pinch coarse salt

Rinse the spring onions and trim the roots. Grab a roasting pan that just fits the scallions length-wise. Place half of the scallions in the pan with the bulb ends on one side, then place the rest in the pan with their bulbs on the opposite side. Add the water to the pan and dot the butter over the scallions.

Cover the pan tightly with foil and roast in a 180°C oven for 30 minutes. Uncover, raise the temperature to 220°C, and roast for another 10-15 minutes, tossing the spring onions every five minutes or so until almost all of the liquid has evaporated and the ends of the spring onions are brown. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.