Kippy’s Basic Vegetable Stock

Kip

17 years ago

Once you get into the habit of making your own stocks, you will loathe to use bouillion cubes ever again. I am picky about my level of salt and I find that not only are store-bought stock powders and cubes far too saliferous, but also much less tasty than a homemade broth. I generally keep a litre or so of stock (at least) in my freezer at any one time to use as a base for a number of recipes. It's now a kitchen staple of mine and I feel uneasy when my freezer is missing its mandatory container of frozen veggie broth!

Homemade stocks are also a great way to use up those vegetables that have been sitting in the fridge for a little too long. You know the ones I mean. I'm talking about the veggies that are a little past their peak, but not quite funky.

Kippy's Basic Vegetable Stock

Makes about 2 litres

Ingredients
- 2 litres water
- 220g celery (leaves are ok too!), roughly chopped
- 1 tomato, quartered
- 10 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 275g carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, quartered
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 1 apple, quartered
- 1-2 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

Directions/Method
1. Mix all ingredients in a large 4 quart (or larger) saucepan. Bring to the boil and then let simmer for 1.5 hours.
2. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once the stock is cooled, strain it, discard the vegetable mush, and use the stock as needed. Freeze what's leftover and simply defrost as needed.