vegetable stock – Kate's Garden Kitchen

Homemade Vegetable Stock

January 27, 2022January 27, 2022katejerome2020gmail.com2 Comments

It’s cold outside, making me want to stay indoors even if the sun teases me to come outside. So, I’ll stay cozy and warm inside and make a big pot of vegetable stock. There’s nothing like a pot of stock bubbling away on the back burner to fill the house with good smells and portend a great soup.

I’ve made it habit of putting all of my vegetable trimmings into a bag in the freezer instead of the compost. Onion and garlic skins, kale and chard ribs, celery and carrot root ends. The only thing I’ve found that doesn’t work well is potato peelings. But sweet potato peelings are a delicious addition. When the bag is full, I put everything into a large pot, toss in a few herbs, and fill it with water to cover the vegetables. One of my secret additions is parmesan rind. My local grocery packages the ends after they cut away the sellable part, and then they are tucked away for sale in the cheese bin. These rinds add a delectable richness to the stock.

I put the pot on a low simmer for several hours. Once cooked and cooled, I strain it into freezer containers and have a delicious base for just about any type of soup.

Because this stock is well-flavored, it easily replaces the chicken stock that so many recipes call for. My stock is never exactly the same because the mix of vegetables changes. Beet and red chard tops make it a rich purple color. But it is always good, and easily adaptable to almost any soup or stew.

Give it a try – it will make your winter days a bit more enjoyable and the sky’s the limit as to the dishes to use it in.

Stock, mirepoix (carrots, celery, onion, garlic) in the slow cooker

Lentil soup for two

½ medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium celery stalk, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ c. dried green or brown lentils
1 c. diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
2 ½ c. stock (homemade if you have it, canned if not)
¼ teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Film a heavy-bottomed pan with olive oil and add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Saute until soft, about ten minutes. Add the oregano and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the lentils, tomatoes and stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 45 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are tender.

Put about half the soup in a blender and pulse until creamy. Return to the soup and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve drizzled with olive oil, sriracha, harissa or your favorite flavoring. You can also top it with grated cheddar and/or sour cream.

To slow cook, put all ingredients in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 5-6 hours, until the lentils are tender.

Riffs:
Add 1 T. chiles in adobo and ¼ t. cumin
Add ½ c. homemade or commercial pesto
Add ½ c. finely chopped kimchi
Add any cooked sausage of choice

Resolutions and Vegetable Soup

January 2, 2021katejerome2020gmail.comLeave a comment

I’m not one for making resolutions, mostly because I don’t want to be disappointed when I can’t keep them. But I am in the mood for some food cleansing to start the year off right. One of the best and easiest things I can do for my family is to make homemade vegetable broth. It has a clean, crisp flavor that is perfect for a soup base. It gives just about any type of soup a rich, savory flavor that you simply cannot get from canned stock or broth. It’s rich enough to drink on its own, flavored with a little salt and pepper.

As simple as possible

Although I’ve seen fairly elaborate recipes for broth, I want to keep this as simple as possible. To help me keep the resolution to do it. So, I keep a plastic bag in my freezer, and every time I trim a vegetable I rinse the trimmings and toss them into the bag.

I use the trimmings from garlic, onions, greens, mushrooms, carrots, celery, etc. Onion skins in particular give a wonderful flavor to the broth. When the bag is full, I dump it all into a large stockpot, add a couple of bay leaves and a handful of whatever other herbs I have in the garden or dried on the shelf.

Simmer slow and long

I cover the vegetables with water and simmer very gently for four or five hours. Once they’re all reduced to mush, I pour the stock through a strainer and divide it up to freeze. I freeze it in one cup batches so it’s simple enough to pull out a chunk, thaw and use it. Toss in some pasta, some sauteed onions, a handful of chopped greens, a can of cannellini beans, and Voila! You have a hearty soup with tons of subtle flavors on the table in 15 minutes. And there’s also a bit of nostalgia about always having a pot of soup bubbling on the back burner.

Mirepoix

You can make almost any kind of brothy soup by starting with a mirepoix (French – named for Duke of Mirepoix and the community he ruled) or soffritto (Called the Holy Trinity in Italian – translates as fried softly).

Chop a small onion, small carrot and a couple of stalks of celery. Saute gently in two tablespoons of olive oil until soft but not browned. This releases the flavors to infuse your soup. Add other vegetables and greens as desired, cooked beans, cooked grains or pasta. Add 2-3 cups of your homemade vegetable broth and heat through, seasoning as desired.

Cabbage White Bean Soup

Olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
2 medium thin-skinned potatoes, sliced
1 c. sliced swiss chard or kale
½ small head cabbage, sliced
1 c. cooked white beans
3-4 cups vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Saute onion, carrot, celery and garlic if using on low-medium heat, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to simmer. Simmer until potatoes are soft when pierced. Season to taste and serve hot.

Kale and Kasha Soup

2 T. olive oil
1 ½ c. chopped onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 c. vegetable broth
¼ t. dried oregano
1 ½ c. cooked kasha or other grain
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed and divided
½ lb. kale, trimmed and chopped

Heat 1 T. oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook 3 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, and cook 5 minutes more, or until onion is lightly browned. Stir in broth, kasha, tomatoes, 1 cup beans, oregano. Bring to a boil. Press half of the kale into the liquid with a wooden spoon until it wilts. Press remaining kale into liquid. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until kale is tender.

Purée remaining beans in food processor and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or sriracha.

Homemade Vegetable Stock

January 14, 2020katejerome2020gmail.com2 Comments

Almost every recipe you see needs broth or stock of one sort or another. And, before you decide to just add water, think first – stock adds a nuance of flavor that you might not even know you’ll miss.

Vegetable stock makes a big difference in flavor

Of course, when making hearty soups, stews and chili with vegetables, beans and other ingredients that give their own rich flavor, it may not be necessary to use stock for extra flavor. But when cooking rice or grains, the addition of flavored liquid can make the difference between bland and dynamite.

There are all sorts of broth and stock available commercially these days, from standard chicken to organic vegetable to the richest bone broths (many are even flavored with garlic, peppers, onions and paprika).

Make your own stock

Although they certainly do in a pinch and I always try to have some in my pantry, homemade stocks are far and away better. Not only because you know what’s in them, but because the flavor is superior and you can control the salt.

Keep a bag of vegetable trimmings in the freezer

It may seem a bit miserly but I’ve gotten in the habit of saving all my vegetable trimmings. I keep a bag in the freezer and toss in, after washing well, the leftovers from onions, shallots, celery, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, etc. It’s important that you wash the peelings before freezing them so you can simply put them in the pot when the time comes.

Add cheese rind and mushrooms for more flavor

When I have a full bag and a day when I’ll be home for at least half a day, I toss them in a large stock pot and add garlic, bay leaf and other herbs I happen to have. The pièce d ‘resistance is to toss in a Parmesan rind to boost the umami flavor. Mushrooms also provide this flavor. You can adjust the flavors however you like with herbs and the vegetables you choose.

Fill the pot, covering the vegetables and turn on low. There’s no need to salt the stock – you can get a better feel for salt levels when you actually use it in a dish. Let the pot simmer and fill your kitchen with a delightful aroma for the day. After four or five hours, strain the stock and refrigerate or freeze. I find it easiest to freeze it in one cup measures since I don’t always need more than that.

Dilled rice with homemade vegetable stock

Dilled Rice

1 c. brown rice

2 c. vegetable stock

1 large clove garlic

1 t. dill seeds or 1 T. dried dill or 3 T. finely chopped fresh dill

1 t. salt

Crush the garlic clove along with the dill and salt until you have a paste. A mortar and pestle is great for this but you can also just use the flat side of a knife. Add the paste to the stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, reduce the heat to very low and cover. Cook about 45-55 minutes. When the liquid is all absorbed, fluff the rice and serve by itself as a side dish or under stir-fried vegetables.