Basic Vegetable Broth Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Remove leaves and tender inner parts of celery and set aside.
• Toss onions, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers and turnips with olive oil. Place vegetables in a roasting pan and place them in the 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) oven. Stir the vegetable every 15 minutes. Cook until all of the vegetables have browned and the onions start to caramelize, this will take over one hour.
• Put the browned vegetables, celery, garlic, cloves, bay leaf, pepper corns, Italian parsley and water into a large stock pot. Bring to a full boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered until liquid is reduced by half.
• Pour the broth through a colander, catching the broth in a large bowl or pot. The liquid caught in the bowl or pot is your vegetable broth it can be used immediately or stored for later use. Although the vegetables are no longer necessary for your broth they are delicious to eat hot or cold, don't waste them!

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:

• Add veggies, water, peppercorns, and bay leaves to your slow cooker.
• Cook on low for 8-10 hours (or on high 4-5 hours), until the broth is golden and the veggies are very tender.
• Remove the lid from the slow cooker and let the broth cool for a bit.
• Use a wooden spoon to gently press on the veggies in the slow cooker to release a little more flavor.
• Grab a large bowl and set a colander over the top. Make sure you're near your kitchen sink! Now carefully pour the mixture into the colander and discard the cooked veggies. Set a fine-mesh sieve over another bowl (or rinse your slow cooker out to use that). Pour the broth over the sieve to strain out the last bit of sediment.
• Add salt if desired.
• Keeps refrigerated in an airtight container for about 5 days, or you can freeze it for later use. Freezer bags are the easiest. To thaw, pull it out of the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw 12-24 hours ahead of time.

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in slow cooker with 7 cups water.
• Cook on low heat until vegetables are tender, about 6 hours.
• Strain into large bowl, pressing vegetables to extract liquid.
• Let cool 30 minutes.
• Refrigerate uncovered until cool.
• Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients in a large pot with 3-4 quarts of water.
• Cover and simmer about 1 hour.
• Strain.
• Variations:.
• You can make this recipe in the slow cooker, which I almost always do, on low for 6 hours or on high for 4.
• This broth freezes very well. Keep it on hand in different sized portions for any recipe that calls for stock. Simply defrost in microwave for a few minutes before adding to another recipe.
• You can add more vegetables and herbs, if you wish, but make sure to add more water if you increase the amount of veggies.
• This recipe will make about 16 cups of stock. Easily double the recipe for more.

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:

• Put all of the ingredients in a large pot and cover them with 6 quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer gently, until it reduces to 2 1/2 quarts, about 2 to 3 hours. Strain through a sieve lined with cheesecloth.

Steps:

• Bring the water to a boil in a 2 quart saucepan. Add the kelp or kombu and dried mushrooms. Let simmer for about 1 hour.
• Remove the sea vegetable and mushrooms, dice, and return to pot.
• Add ginger and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the miso and garnish with the scallions.
• Serve as is, or use as stock.