Basic Vegetable Broth

Name: Basic Vegetable Broth
Prep time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 large sweet onion such as Vidalia, coarsely chopped; 2 stalks celery , coarsely chopped; 2 carrots , trimmed, peeled, and coarsely chopped; 3 cloves garlic , with skins on, crushed with a side of a chef's knife; ¼ teaspoon salt; ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley; 1 bay leaf

Chef

David Ricketts

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Cookbook

Eat to Beat Prostate Cancer Cookbook

Published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang

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Good-quality commercially prepared vegetable broths are available, but if you make your own, then you know exactly what's in it and you can control the amount of added salt. For a slight sweetness, add whole cloves or star anise along with the bay leaf—remember to remove these before using the broth.

NotesServing Suggestions: Use in any of your own recipes that call for chicken or beef broth. For a practically instant soup, warm some of this stock, then add small cubes of firm tofu.

Make-Ahead Tip: Broth can be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for up to a month. If you make concentrated stock, for easier storage, pour it into ice cube trays, freeze, then pop out the cubes and store them in a freezer bag in freezer. Several cubes are the beginning of a soup, and two or three can be used for steaming vegetables.

Preparation Time5 min

Preparation Time - Text5 minutes

CostInexpensive

Easy

Make Ahead RecipeYes

Dietary ConsiderationVegan, Vegetarian

Type of DishStock

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large sweet onion such as Vidalia, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, trimmed, peeled, and coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, with skins on, crushed with a side of a chef's knife
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf

Instructions

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and salt and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add 8 cups water, parsley, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve placed over large bowl. Gently press the solids with a rubber spatula or back of a large spoon to squeeze out juices. Discard solids.
Use stock as is, or for a more concentrated flavor, boil to reduce by one quarter to one half.
3. Use stock as is, or for a more concentrated flavor, boil to reduce by one quarter to one half.