All-purpose vegetable stock

December 25, 2007 at 12:43 pm · Filed under christmas, cooking, food, health, nutrition, soup, vego, winter

Hi, my name is Maggan. Welcome to Maggan’s kitchen!

Do you sometimes wonder how to make a dish more flavourful without using bouillon loaded with mono-sodium glutamate, flavour enhancers, emulsifiers, preservatives, and hydrogenated fat?

I found a solution by making my own vegetable stock using the vegetable stock recipe from Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo’s Cook Right 4 Your Type. Aside from being a healthy alternative that is highly beneficial to all blood types, this broth is sweet and clean-tasting. I can attest to that. Now, what could beat the promise of good taste and good health? N-o-t-h-i-n-g-!

  • 1 large yellow onion, cut into quarters
  • 2 carrots, washed, trimmed, and cut into large pieces
  • 2 stalks celery, washed and cut
  • parsley stems
  • garlic skins
  • apple skins and cores
  • mushroom stems
  • parsnips
  • leeks
  1. Fill a very large (5-6 litre) pot up to 3 quarters full with water and bring to boil.
  2. Add all the vegetables and herbs.
  3. Simmer for 40 minutes in low to medium heat.
  4. Cool and strain out the vegetables.
  5. Freeze in small containers.

Don’t worry if you mistakenly put in the vegetables and herbs before the water boils. The stock will still turn out fine. I committed this mistake twice. Oops!

Nor is there anything to worry about if you don’t have a very large pot. If you use less water, the result will be a more concentrated stock. You’ll then only need a little amount when you use it for cooking. Just ensure you freeze it in small amounts to avoid re-freezing after thawing.

Now, I’m going to reveal a secret. I use this vegetable stock for my lasagna meat sauce. The first time I had done it, H marked the difference in taste. The best lasagna by far! It outdid all my earlier lasagna. Nothing wrong with them though.

Yesterday, I made paella valenciana using this vegetable stock instead of water and chicken bouillon. H says I should make paella more often—a weekly staple like lasagna. Incidentally, we’re having lasagna tonight and postponing the pizza until tomorrow.

Oh, before I forget, here’s a last note on the vegetable stock recipe: don’t use broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and other vegetables of the cruciferous kind as they will dominate the taste of the broth.

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