I figured since I’ve declared myself a vegetarian for one week a month that I need to find myself a good recipe for vegetable stock. Most could-be vegetarian soups call for chicken or vegetable stock. I always use chicken stock because a) I’m not vegetarian and b) I only ever have chicken stock on hand.
Well that’s changing today. I found a really easy recipe for one-hour vegetable stock on Mark Bittman’s blog. My recipe is adapted from his but took a little bit longer to make. It made a little bit over 18 cups.
ingredients.
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 lbs. carrots, washed and sliced
- 2 large red onions, peeled and sliced
- 4 red potatoes, washed and sliced
- 2 celery stalks, washed and chopped
- 1 head of garlic, cloves peeled
- 1 shallot, peeled and sliced
- 1 lb. white mushrooms, washed and sliced
- 20 parsley stems with leaves
- 1/2 to 3/4 c. soy sauce
- 1/3 c. whole all spice
- 1/4 c. whole black peppercorns
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
directions.
- Start prepping your vegetables. As you’re prepping, put some oil in a deep skillet over medium or medium-high heat. When hot, add some carrots, onions, potatoes, celery, garlic, and mushrooms until the bottom of the saucepan is lightly covered. Cook without stirring for about 5 minutes until the vegetables begin to brown. Continue cooking, stirring infrequently, until the vegetables are browned well. Work in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the vegetables as you go, continuing to prep the remaining vegetables as the first couple of batches are browning. Remove each batch of vegetables to your stock pot.
- Add the parsley, 32 cups water, the soy sauce, allspice and pepper. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat to medium-low so the stock simmers steadily but gently. Cook for about an hour or two, until the vegetables are very tender.
- Strain, then taste and adjust the taste, by adding more soy sauce, salt or pepper before using or storing.
It’s always hard for me to judge the taste of stock as any stock I’ve ever tried has been a bit bland. I had to salt and pepper the crap out of this stock to get it to taste something less than bland. That being said, I used it tonight to make soup and the soup turned out fabulous. I made a huuuuge batch of this stock so I can continue to make vegetarian soups and dishes over the next several weeks. It’s nearly winter, which means it’s the perfect time for soup. Plus, I can’t wait to try this stock out in a vegetarian risotto.
Food Snob 