I love a Homemade Vegetable Stock – more subtle, complex, and, well, vegetabley, than a stock-cube version.
It’s easy to make simple vegetable stock from scratch using fresh, chopped onion, leek, carrot, celery, and herbs, but, in a quest for a minimal-wastage alternative, I’ve come up with this, made from the trimmings left after preparing a classic veg soup.
The ingredient list below is just a sample really, ideally, what I do, is save all the peelings and trims from vegetables and then just boil them and make the stock. It’s that simple.
Good vegetable stock is one of those essential kitchen ingredients that’s always handy to have up your sleeve at dinnertime. And while store-bought stock cubes are useful – nothing beats a healthy homemade vegetable stock!
Homemade Stock vs Shop-Bought Stock
Although store-bought stock cubes are a time saver they’re often high in salt and can be full of additives like flavour enhancers and palm oil, which have been known to cause migraines and nausea in some people. What’s more, if you are gluten intolerant many stock cubes contain wheat, maize starch, and yeast extract, which means they aren’t gluten-free.
Homemade stock, on the other hand, is rich in vitamins and minerals with many added health benefits. Such as boosting your immune system and improving liver and gut health. Homemade stock is also lower in salt and calories than the store-bought version, is easily made gluten-free and since you make it yourself you always know exactly what’s going in (meaning no nasty additives!). You can also have fun and add different flavors to your stock according to your preferences.
People are often concerned that homemade vegetable stock is complicated. But it really couldn’t be easier – chop up your veg, add water, simmer, strain and you’re done
What I really like about homemade vegetable stock, is that it helps with reducing waste. As I mentioned above, I like to live as waste-free as possible. Especially when it comes to food.
Anyway! Do let me know how you found this Homemade Vegetable Stock recipe if you try it though! And if there was anything you tried or something that worked better…Do drop me a comment below, or you can find me/message me directly on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or Facebook! I love seeing what my lovely readers think of my recipes!
Homemade Vegetable Stock
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- Small bunch of parsley
- 3 small leeks cut into rolls
- 2 medium carrots cut into chunks
- 3-4 celery ribs diced
- 1 large parsnip of Celeriac diced up
- 3 bay leaves
- 6-8 peppercorns
Instructions
- Add all the vegetables in a deep saucepan and add 1.5-2 litres of water and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down, and simmer for 25 minutes. You will notice that the colour will change and once you taste it, it will have a pleasant vegetable flavour.
- Turn off the heat, and cover the pan for another 20 minutes to infuse. After that, strain the stock and get rid of the vegetables. You can use it now, or once it cools you can store in it in the fridge or freeze it.
Notes
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