Description
Alton Brown’s vegetable stock delivers robust flavor through a carefully curated blend of aromatic vegetables and herbs. Home chefs can easily craft this versatile liquid base, elevating soups, sauces, and risottos with its rich, complex profile.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Vegetables:
- 2 medium onions, halved
- 4 medium carrots, chopped
- 1 to 2 medium celery stalks, chopped
- 1 garlic bulb, halved
- Leek or fennel tops, chopped
Fresh Herbs:
- 1 small bunch fresh thyme
- Handful of fresh parsley
- 3 bay leaves
Seasoning and Liquid:
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 10 to 12 cups (2.4 to 2.8 liters) filtered water
Instructions
- Combine carrots, celery, leek tops, whole garlic cloves, fresh parsley sprigs, thyme branches, bay leaves, kosher salt, black pepper, and water in a spacious stockpot, ensuring the liquid covers all ingredients (approximately 10 to 12 cups of water).
- Bring the liquid to a rolling boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the temperature to create a gentle, consistent simmer.
- Cover the stockpot with a tight-fitting lid and allow the vegetable-infused broth to develop its flavors slowly over low heat for approximately 60 minutes.
- After the simmering process, carefully remove the pot from the heat source and strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, extracting all the aromatic liquid while separating and discarding the softened vegetable solids.
- Taste the resulting vegetable stock and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper as needed, creating a versatile base for various soup, stew, and risotto recipes.
Notes
- Vegetable stock transforms kitchen waste into liquid gold, capturing flavors from usually discarded plant parts.
- Chopping scraps uniformly ensures consistent flavor extraction and smoother blending during preparation.
- Freezing leftover vegetable pieces creates convenient stock ingredients ready for future cooking adventures.
- Saving herb stems and tops adds depth and complexity to homemade stock without extra grocery expenses.
- Collecting diverse vegetable trimmings guarantees a more robust and nuanced stock profile.
- Storing accumulated scraps in sealed containers prevents spoilage and maintains ingredient freshness.
- Mixing different vegetable remnants creates a more interesting and layered stock foundation.
- Washing produce thoroughly before saving scraps eliminates potential dirt or contaminant concerns.
- Roughly chopping vegetable pieces maximizes surface area for better flavor and nutrient extraction.
- Monitoring stock color and intensity helps determine optimal cooking and straining times.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner, Snacks
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 10 kcal
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg