The farm kitchen doesn’t take sides when it comes to food. Vegetarian, paleo, vegan, gluten free, omnivore, we like it all! Often we use local pastured chicken bones to make homemade stock, especially after roasting one. A lot of recipes we’ve been testing call for a cup or two of vegetable stock. I’ve never found any store bought stock that didn’t have a few less than desirable ingredients. (Occasionally I do pick up a tetra pack in a pinch) I decided to do the same thing I do with leftover chicken, simmer vegetables into stock and save in one and four cup portions for cooking.
Our CSA Shares are perfect for making homemade stock! Combine just about any vegetables you have and you’re not far away from a delicious savory stock. I did a little research and found some great tips for making an extra rich stock. This version is adapted from Mark Bittman, although I also found some great ideas for a roasted veggie stock. Adding potatoes was something I’d never thought of, and the starch helps thicken the stock. The vegetables are cut into small pieces, browned, and then I used a dry white wine from Bet the Farm Winery to deglaze the pan. Simmer with tamari soy sauce (gluten free if you must), peppercorns, and bay leaves. I was really pleased with the results and it’s a flavorful stock to cook with.
When you make a meat based stock, the bones and marrow do most of the work for you, and the vegetables and herbs are more of an afterthought. For a purely vegetable based stock just a few extra steps will make the results so much better. In addition to the veggies feel free to add dried or fresh mushrooms, and any fresh herbs. Parsley, thyme, and sage are great here. This stock will be ready after simmering for just an hour, or let it go longer adding water as necessary. My total cooking time was two hours with browning.
Rich Vegetable Stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
Assorted Vegetables like: 2 carrots, 1 onions, 1 fennel bulb, half head of celery, 2 potatoes, 1 leek
4 – 6 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
handful of fresh herbs like parsley, thyme, or sage
1 bay leaf, optional
1/4 cup tamari or shoyu soy sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine
In your largest stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add all of the vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes or until edges start to brown. Add wine to the pot and and stir to scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook for a few minutes to let the wine reduce. Fill the pot with 12 -16 cups water depending on the size of your stock pot. Add soy sauce herbs, peppercorns, garlic, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, and then simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes or more if you have time. If you let the stock simmer longer, add water as necessary. When stock is done cooking, taste and adjust shoyu or tamari as necessary. Add a bit sea salt for flavoring if you like.
Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve into quart size and smaller containers. Let cool, then cover and freeze.
