VEGETABLE STOCK/BROTH

Vegetable Stock/Broth: Liquid Gold for Pensioners  

1st posted 3 Mar 2015

Limited Effort, Great Rewards

original photo 8 april 20 

A Vegetable stock is a great way to get a concentrated dose of vitamins and minerals.  The vegetables pictured were bought at the beginning of a week but any leftovers lingering in the fridge will also do.  

You can swap in whatever you've got - celeriac, swede, bits of salad, quick cook veg like broccoli or green beans, sprouts (incl. bean sprouts) - anything apart from strong coloured veg like red cabbage or purple beetroot (unless you like your soup rainbow coloured!).

The great thing about this kind of stock is that the vegetables don't have to be peeled -- they will be drained through a fine-meshed sieve when the stock is ready.  Furthermore, just 10 mins of chopping, the addition of liquid and the stock cooks itself.  A couple of hours on top of the stove (or several in a Slow Cooker) produces a lovely liquid which enhances flavour in other soups.  It freezes like a dream. 

A cup of Vegetable Stock can also be enjoyed by pensioners who don't enjoy solid food, someone recovering from 'flu or colds, or even those looking for a meal substitute.  Plant or carnivore garnishes add protein.

This recipe was adapted from Martha Rose Shulman's Vegetarian Feast, published in the UK in 1979 but out of print.  

Cost : £2.50'ish

Yields: 2 pints/under a litre

Ingredients:

    2 med onions, quartered (no new to remove skins)

    2 carrots, washed & coarsely chopped

    2 stalks celery, washed & coarsely chopped

    2-3 unpeeled washed potatoes, in large chunks

    2 leeks, white only, well washed, in chunks

    4 sprigs fresh parsley or chive (dried is also fine)

    1 bay leaf

    1/2 tsp dried thyme

    1 whole bulb garlic, separated into cloves
    1x 2 inch piece peeled ginger
    4 whole black peppercorns

    1 tablespoon reduced-salt soy sauce

    2 tbsp bullion powder (opt) 

    salt & pepper to taste

    2 1/2 pints/ 1 1/3 litre cold water with or without a shot of white wine, brandy or sherry

Method:

1. Place veg in a large heavy bottomed pot
2. Bring to a boil; boil hard 5 minutes, skimming off any scum
3. Reduce heat; mixture should be gently bubbling.
4. Cover with a lid, leaving it open just a crack; simmer on low heat for for 2 hours, checking that it is bubbling continuously but not evaporating too quickly
5. Check seasoning.  Simmer longer if needed.   
6. Strain.  (If you like, keep the vegetables which are very flavourful and can be pureed to thicken soups) 
7. Cool and leave overnight in the fridge.  
8. Use within four days of cooking or freeze.  

Tips: 

• replacing bullion cubes with a 40g packet of white instant miso soup adds flavour (67 used Clearspring)
• Clear out the salad drawer before making stock, adding peeled old carrots, lettuce leaves with the nasty bits torn off or any other salad veg to intensify the flavour of the broth
•  Speedy Vegetable Broth: A faster version of Veggie Broth using salad ingredients

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This recipe was developed by B  Lee/Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.