Vegetable stock has so many uses and can elevate just about anything it’s added to; it’s become essential to my kitchen setup. It’s also really cheap to make a ton of it, so I find myself making it quite often. I used to prepare it according to the free recipe online that has “5 Stars” (if you trust the pedestrian masses and their derivative “star system”, go ahead and use that recipe (but it’s a blunder, I say!)). That recipe was fine until I started shopping around and trying other recipes.
I’ve adapted Mark Bittman’s recipe from his great book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. This is the best vegetable stock I’ve tried. Once prepared, you can use this surprisingly hearty stock to build a soup (I’ve made everything from vegetarian chili to tortilla soup with this stock), sauce, to fortify grains like quinoa (use stock in place of water), or you can just sip it on a hot summer day (if you’re into that).
I like to make about two quarts (1/2 gallon) at any given time—you can cut this recipe in half or double it depending on how much you want to make, but bear in mind that it only takes a few more minutes of prep to double or triple this recipe. (Storage information follows): Continue reading
