Fresh Homemade Vegetable Stock
You can always BUY cartons of vegetable stock, or those little jars of concentrate — but why not make your own? It’s easy to do from scraps of vegetables you would normally throw out – the ends of onions, the base of the celery stalk (wash thoroughly to remove dirt first), potato or carrot peelings, tips of green onions, etc. Just throw them in a freezer bag and keep adding to it until it’s full, then throw it in a pot with about 8 cups of water.
This is a very flexible, basic stock used in dozens of vegan and vegetarian recipes that you can make in just about an hour. I didn’t have any veggie scraps, so I dug around in the refrigerator and just used what I had on hand. When using your home made broth, just add a bit more water to dilute it for soup.
When I’m making my broth, I use what vegetables I have like I said, but the most important ones to include are onions, garlic, carrots and herbs. The point is you want the water to taste like vegetables, not like plain water. Home made broth gives the best flavor for soup, beans, water sauteing of vegetables, etc. Any recipe that calls for plain water can be enhanced by using your vegetable broth.
You can also use any other vegetable tops or organic vegetable skins if you like, but leave out the celery leaves, as they can be bitter. Make sure any peels you use are from organic vegetables only. You can also add green onions, other root vegetables like potatoes, already cooked beans, etc. to add a rich depth to the flavor.
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 large leek, chopped
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 dried bay leaf
- few sprigs of fresh flat leaf parsley
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- 8 cups water
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 12-15 black peppercorns
- Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil.
- Skim away any surface froth using a large flat spoon.
- Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, then partially cover pot and cook for 45 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Line a strainer with a clean cheesecloth and place it over a large pitcher or bowl. Pour the bouillon through the strainer, then discard the solids.
- Cover the stock and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze in small portions to use later.
Category: Condiments and Seasonings
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