Vegetable Stock Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium stockpot over medium until hot but not smoking. Add chopped onion and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Add celery, carrots, garlic, and peppercorns; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
• Pour in enough water to cover vegetables by 1 inch (8 to 10 cups) and add herbs and remaining half onion. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, 1 hour.
• Pour stock through a fine sieve into a large bowl or another pot, pressing on vegetables to extract as much flavorful liquid as possible. Discard solids. If not using immediately, cool in an ice-water bath before transferring to airtight containers.

Steps:

• Chop scrubbed vegetables into 1-inch chunks. Remember, the greater the surface area, the more quickly vegetables will yield their flavor.
• Heat oil in a soup pot. Add onion, celery, carrots, scallions, garlic, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook over high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add salt and water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Strain. Discard vegetables.
• Other ingredients to consider: mushrooms, eggplant, asparagus (butt ends), corn cobs, fennel (stalks and trimmings), bell peppers, pea pods, chard (stems and leaves), celery root parings, marjoram (stems and leaves), basil, potato parings . . . Get the idea?

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large bowl toss the oil with onions, carrots, garlic, leeks and arrange them in a roasting pan.
• Place pan in oven and roast, stirring once, for 45 minutes or until golden brown and tender.
• In a large saucepan or stock pot combine the roasted vegetables with carrot tops, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, peppercorns, clove and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 hour or until the broth is reduced to about 8 cups. Strain.
• Additions for Summer Stock: summer squash, tomatoes, green beans, eggplant, bell peppers, corn cobs, marjoram, oregano, basil.
• Instead of first roasting vegetables, saute them over high heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until vegetables begin to brown. Complete recipe as above.
• Additions for Winter Stock: celery root, parsley root, dried sage, mushrooms (both dried or 1 pound fresh).

Steps:

• Roughly chop all vegetables and place in a large pot. Pour in water to cover and bring to a boil Reduce heat to a simmer, skim and discard impurities from the top. Add the spices. Simmer, uncovered for about 2 hours. Strain and store in the refrigerator up to a week or keep frozen.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Peel onions and cut in chunks. Peel carrots and cut in large rounds. Trim celery and chop in one-inch pieces. Peel parsnips and cut in large rounds. Peel garlic and mince. Chop tomatoes.
• Toss vegetables and garlic with oil and spread on a baking pan. Put in oven and roast for about an hour or until nicely browned. Stir occasionally to release steam.
• Remove vegetables from oven, place in large, deep pot, add water to cover, add herbs and pepper.
• Simmer for three hours. Cool and strain.