House Made Vegetable Stock

In the last year I've started making my own soup stock. I would like to thank Mark Bittman's and his How to Cook Everything book for giving me a lot of inspiration (he also wrote an outstanding Vegetarian cookbook).

Vegetable Stock

I have finally discovered the joy of making my own stock. The most common stock I make is vegetable, but I’m starting to do some chicken/beef from time to time. I’ve been amazed by how a little stock can add a bunch of flavor. I can knock out a small batch of stock without really adding a lot of time to another recipe I’m working on. Sometimes working with just scraps I’ll make a small cup of broth in 20 minutes to help add some flavor to something else. Other times I’ll do a full batch (6-8 cups). With that I can do a nice soup and have extra for some smaller recipes.

(Some frozen scraps that I accumulate to make the stock with.

Here I have carrot, onion, and cilantro stems.)

I also add some fresh vegetables. Usually whatever is in the fridge:

potato, carrot, onion, and mushroom.

How to make a vegetable stock:

I like to start by frying some vegetables for 5 to 30 minutes. I usually use a combination of onions, carrots, mushrooms, peppers, or potatoes. Often it’s just leftovers, and sometimes I have only 2-3 veggies to put in the stock. After browning them for a bit I just cover with water and let it boil. I try to let it boil for about 30 minutes depending on how much time I have.

Brown them up first.

Tip: I season the stock with a little soy sauce.

I don't add salt or pepper until I'm actually cooking with it.

Fried Yellow Squash

Slice up one or two soft squash or zucchini. Add a half cup of roughly chopped onion if you want. Pan fry the vegetables until they start to brown. Throw some salt on and make sure they are tender. Add a third of a cub of vegetable stock to the pan in the last three minutes of cooking. The broth will quickly thicken and coat the vegetables. It adds a ton of rich flavor very quickly. You can do the same thing with bok choy, carrots, and hard squashes.

Simple Risotto

I made a simple risotto the other day. I found it much easier than I feared. They key is to slowly add liquid to rice while cooking it. Start with the rice and oil in a small pan. Have your stock and a ladle in a container on the side. Every couple of minutes add a ½ cup of stock and keep stirring. Never let the rice dry out or get soupy. You can flavor it with a lot of common herbs or soft vegetables. Within about 20 minutes the rice should be soft and creamy.