Vegetable Stock Recipe

Vegetable stock is a wonderful thing to have on hand in the house. It adds lots of flavor to soups, and tastes great when added to rice. You can replace the liquid in many dishes for vegetable stock yielding a deeper rich flavor.

But cartons of pre-made vegetable stock can be expensive, especially if you opt for the organic varieties, and it’s very easy and inexpensive to make yourself at home.

The holiday season is here and aving some vegetable stock you’ve made ahead of time, ready to go in the freezer, will be a great addition to your holiday meals, giving them a more distinguished flavor. The end of fall and winter are especially good times to have delicious batches of vegetable stock at your fingertips for all the warm, delightful dishes you’ll make.

The aroma of the vegetables sauteing is lovely and comforting. Pick a day you’ll be home for a while, play some holiday music and allow the stock to simmer on your stove top. You’ll be smiling in no time 🙂

Vegetable Stock Recipe

[Prep time: 5 minutes, cook time: approx. 1.5 hours]

Yields: approximately 7 cups

Ingredients

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, peeled & coarsely chopped

¾ tsp. sea salt, divided into ¼ teaspoons

3/8 tsp. white pepper, divided into 1/8 teaspoons or 3 pinches

2 carrots, unpeeled and coarsely chopped

2 celery stalks, with the leaves attached coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, sliced

10 cups water

Parsley, handful or about 8 branches, whole with stems

Thyme, handful or about 8 sprigs, whole with stems

2 bay leaves

Directions

Add extra virgin olive oil to a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion, ¼ tsp. sea salt, and 1/8 tsp. white pepper to the pot.

Sauté and stir occasionally until onions start to caramelize, about 12 minutes.

Add carrots, celery, garlic, ¼ tsp. sea salt, and 1/8 tsp. white pepper. Adding the salt and pepper in stages helps to build flavor. Sauté the veggies for 10 minutes.

Add water, parsley, thyme, bay leaves and remaining ¼ tsp. sea salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper.

Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and gently simmer uncovered for 1 hour.

The stock will last a couple of days in the fridge or can be
frozen for up to 3 months.