Veggie Bouillon Recipes

Steps:

• To make the bouillon, cut 1 of the onions, the celery, leeks, parsnips, carrots and fennel into 1-inch dice. Heat 3 teaspoons of olive oil in a large pot over low heat. Add the diced vegetables and sweat, stirring frequently, until soft but not browned, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut the other onion in half crosswise. Heat a small heavy skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Brush with 1 teaspoon of oil. Place the onion in the skillet cut side down and cook until blackened.
• Add blackened onion, tomato and water to pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Season lightly with salt.
• Line a strainer with a thin cotton tea towel, place over a bowl and strain the bouillon. Let the vegetables continue to drip at least 1 hour. Discard the vegetables.
• To serve, bring the bouillon to a boil in a large saucepan. If using celery or carrot, add to the pot and cook for 3 minutes. Add any remaining garnishes except herbs and cook just until warmed through.
• Using a slotted spoon, divide the garnishes among 6 bowls. Remove the bouillon from the heat and sprinkle in the herbs. Ladle over the vegetables and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Place the first four ingredients in your food processor and pulse about twenty times. Add the next four ingredients, and pulse again. Add the salt, pulse some more. Then add the parsley and cilantro. You may need to scoop some of the chopped vegetables on top of the herbs, so they get chopped. Mine tended to want to stay on top of everything else, initially escaping the blades.
• You should end up with a moist, loose paste of sorts. Keep 1/4th of it in a jar in the refrigerator for easy access in the coming days, and freeze the remaining 3/4 for use in the next month. Because of all the salt it barely solidifies making it easy to spoon directly from the freezer into the pot before boiling.
• Start by using 1 teaspoon of bouillon per 1 cup (250 ml), and adjust from there based on your personal preference.
• Makes roughly 3 1/2 cups.