A good homemade vegetable stock can serve as the base for many soups.
Homemade vegetable stock can replace water in many recipes and add extra flavor to the dish. It's excellent to use when you make rice, risotto, soups, stews, chili and a variety of other dishes. You also can use stock in place of recipes calling for broth, as there is no discernible difference between the two. A large quantity of stock can be made at once and frozen in 1 cup portions for later use.
Instructions
1. Peel and wash all of the vegetables you'll be using. Quarter the onions, potato and turnips. Chop the green onions, carrots and celery into large pieces. Discard celery leaves. Halve the mushrooms and chop the white and light-green parts of the leeks.
2. Place all of the ingredients into an 8-qt. stockpot. Fill the pot with about a gallon of cold water to cover about half an inch above the ingredients. Bring the water to a rolling boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
3. Use a large slotted spoon to remove the vegetables from the pot after the hour is up. Run the stock through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container to filter out any residual vegetable pieces.
4. Pour the stock into a resealable container and store in the refrigerator for three to four days. If you wish to keep the stock longer, measure out 1-cup increments and freeze in freezer bags or freezer-safe plasticware. Keep the frozen stock for up to three months.
Tags: vegetable stock
