Once you make your own vegetable stock, you won’t want to ever buy it again. It’s so quick and easy to make, and it is a great way to use up all those fresh herbs and vegetables you didn’t get around to using. Simply freeze whatever portion you don’t use right away, and then pull it out whenever you want to make a quick soup, stew or slow cooker meal.
Once you make your own vegetable stock, you won’t want to ever buy it again. It’s so quick and easy to make, and it is a great way to use up all those fresh herbs and vegetables you didn’t get around to using. Simply freeze whatever portion you don’t use right away, and then pull it out whenever you want to make a quick soup, stew or slow cooker meal.
Yield: 4 cups
Total Prep time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
¼ c. olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
3 large carrots, cut into chunks
3 stalks celery, cut into chunks
water to cover
8 sprigs fresh thyme
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 handful whole fresh parsley
small handful whole peppercorns
Directions
Add olive oil to a large stockpot and heat over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, carrots, and celery to heated olive oil and sauté for 5 or 6 minutes, or until the flavor is released.
Add enough water to cover the vegetables, followed by thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, parsley and peppercorns. Heat mixture over medium-high heat until it just about boils, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Give it a quick stir and simmer, uncovered, for about an hour. (The exact amount of time doesn’t matter – the longer it simmers, the better the flavor will be).
Place a stainless steel colander over a large pot in the sink. Carefully pour contents of stockpot into the colander to separate out the solids from the liquid. Discard solids and allow liquid to cool completely before transferring to freezer safe-storage containers. Freeze until ready to use.
