Homemade vegetable stock

Before I became vegan, I made my own stock. I always had a vegan good quality stock in my store cupboard but when I made a vegetable one it often fell flat.

Last year to reduce my food waste I purchased a compost bin, which I am delighted with. Making a big pot of soup one day, my eyes settled on a pile of peelings and ends. Light bulb moment, it was time to concentrate and make a vegetable stock to be proud of.

A stock is the backbone of many recipes such as

• Soups
• Casseroles
• Stews

Sometimes called broth, it is the savoury liquid, made from extracting the maximum amount of flavour from the ingredients used.

Now, I add to a freezer bag any big scraps of vegetables, along with any veg that is looking a little sorry for itself. Then I freeze it and add to it.

Can I vary the stock?

This stock recipe is not set in stone, use the vegs and scraps you have available. I have included greens in the recipe, by this I mean hardy greens like savoy cabbage, kale, swiss chard.

No miso?

Miso gives the stock extra oomph. You could also add 2 tbsp of yeast extract like Marmite, make sure your brand is vegan.

Why do you saute the veg?

If you saute the vegetables first you will bring out their natural sweetness and flavour. You could also oven roast them.

Can I use white wine instead of water?

You could replace 1/2 pint of water with a vegan white mine, although make sure the whine is not overly sweet.

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Homemade Vegetable Stock

• Preparation Time 15 Minutes
• Cooking Time 1 Hour 30 Minutes o
• Servings 4 Pints

Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 2 large sticks of celery, washed and chopped
• 4 large carrots with skins on and finely chopped
• 1 large onion finely chopped, include skins
• 5 cloves of garlic crushed with skins
• 1 leek thoroughly rinsed and sliced
• 4 1/2 pints of water
• Chopped greens
• 2 bay leaves
• Small sprig of fresh thyme
• Sprig of Rosemary, leaves only finely chopped
• 6 whole black peppercorns
• 1 tsp of salt
• 4 tbsp of tomato puree
• 2 tsp white miso

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Instructions

1. Grab yourself a big stew pot or the biggest pot you have. Add the oil and heat. Once it is hot, add the chopped veg you have such as the onion, garlic, carrot and leek.
2. Cook for 5 minutes and then add the tomato puree, cooking it out for a few minutes.
3. Next, add the peppercorns and salt along with the water. Place in the greens you are using along with any skins and scraps you have.
4. Turn up the heat from medium to high and add herbs and miso. Once it has reached boiling turn down to a simmer.
5. Simmer for 45 minutes and then taste to determine if you need to adjust the flavour, season to your taste . Continue to simmer for a further 45 minutes, uncovered now to reduce the stock slightly and then remove from the heat.
6. Leave to cool slightly before straining it into a large jug.
7. Then pour back into the pan and place it on a fast simmer for 30 minutues or until it reaches a thickness you are happy with. This concentates the flavours.
8. Once completely cool divide them into storage containers. I tend to use vacuum seal freezer bags as it takes up less toom in the freezer.
9. This will keep up to 5 days in the fridge or up to 6 months in the freezer.

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PS: If you like this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Twitter as @veganalchemist1 or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thegfveganalchemist I love seeing your versions of my recipes. Or I would love to hear your comments