Better Than Boxed Vegetable Broth
The term, “broth,” dates back as far as 1000 CE and originally meant, “liquid in which flesh is boiled.”* ** Among its roots in Old High German, Old English, and Old Norse, broth stems from many words, such as “bhreau,”to boil, bubble, effervesce, burn.”* Here, the slow cooking of vegetables adds so much flavor to your soups while filling your home with the earthy aroma of nature’s garden. You won’t regret the extra time it takes to prepare it because most of the time is spent boiling the vegetables. Plus, it does not need tending to, so you can multitask and get other chores done at the same time. Use this broth as a base for my Heartwarming White Bean and Smoked Ham Soup or my Tuscany-Inspired Minestrone Soup.
Ingredients
- 2 giant leeks
- 4 medium carrots
- 3 large celery stalks
- 2 tomatoes on the vine
- 2 medium Yukon potatoes
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 1 bunch leafy carrot tops, if you have them
- 6 bushy oregano stalks
- 4 bay leaves
- ½ t. black peppercorns
- 20 cups water
Directions
- Step 1 Chop the vegetables. First, wash the leeks and slice the white and green parts of this tuber into 1/2” round disks, tossing them, as you go, into a 7-quart stockpot (see note below). Next, wash the celery, potatoes, tomatoes, and carrots and chop them into 1 ½” chunks, adding them to the stockpot, too. Lastly, toss the leafy carrot tops into the stockpot, procuring to not chop them since they’ll be easier to extract whole later.
- Step 2 Add the herbs and spices. Now, take the flat side of a chef knife’s blade and smash the garlic cloves, which makes it easier to remove the cloves from their skin. Toss the cloves whole into the stockpot or tie them in a sachet of cheesecloth along with the sprigs of oregano, bay leaves, and peppercorns, so it is easier to remove later.
- Step 3 Boil the vegetables. Fill the stockpot with the water and heat on high until the broth comes to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to a simmer and boil covered for an hour and a half. At first, you may need to be vigilant and stir the stockpot regularly. This is so the contents of the broth don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. But as the vegetables begin cooking, they will float to the top, and you won’t need to stir as frequently. I still did every so often.
- Step 4 After an hour and a half, remove the stockpot from the heat and cover, steeping for another 30 minutes to intensify the flavors.
- Step 5 After 30 minutes, uncover and allow the broth to cool. Then, pour the contents through a fine-meshed sieve, with a large bowl underneath to catch the strained liquid. Sort through the sieve to discard the stringy carrot tops, oregano, bay leaves, garlic, and peppercorns, if you can find them. Transfer the cooked veggies to a blender with a bit of liquid and purée them. Store the broth and purée separately in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Use this recipe as a base for my Heartwarming White Bean and Smoked Ham Soup or my Tuscan-Inspired Minestrone Soup.
- Step 6 Note: if you don’t have a 7-quart stockpot, then experiment by adding less vegetables or cutting back on how much water you’ll add to the pot. Also, note the broth won’t have a strong flavor but will pick up body after seasoned with salt.
A staple in every kitchen, vegetable broth, is easy to make and is so much better homemade than with the store-bought variety. Plus, it yields a vegetable purée, which can be added as a thickening agent to add more flavor and body to your soups.
SOURCES:
**Rachel Mamane. “The Etymology of Stock and Broth,” an excerpt from Mastering Stocks and Broths, A Comprehensive Culinary Approach Using Traditional Techniques and No-Waste Methods. Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, Vermont, 2017.
*“broth (n).” Online Etymology Dictionary. Last accessed January 18, 2022.