What do you do when you have a bunch of vegetables rolling around in your fridge and you're not sure what to do with them? Why not make vegetable stock to use in place of chicken stock in sauces, soups, and stews? Not only is it really easy, but also a great way to use up leftover veggies and save yourself some money on your grocery bill. This recipe makes up a whopping 20 cups or so, which will be enough for you to make several batches of soup.
Ingredients:
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 leeks, dark green parts, only
1 garlic bulb, separated but unpeeled
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 celery sticks, chopped
1 or 2 apples, quartered
4 bay leaves
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp whole coriander seeds
1 tbsp coarse salt
few sprigs of fresh thyme, parsley, sage, and rosemary (or a combination of)
20 cups cold water
With the flat side of a knife, squash each of the unpeeled garlic cloves. Heat up a little olive oil in the bottom of your stock pot, then toss in the chopped onion, leek, carrots, and celery and sauté them up for about 5 minutes, stirring, over medium heat. Add all the rest of the ingredients and bring the stock to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and keep it bubbling lightly on the stove for 45 minutes.
Allow to cool, then strain the stock and store either in your fridge or freeze for future use.
Makes 20 cups
Adapted from Rebar
Printer-friendly version