Easy recipes for tasty vegetable stock

Making vegetable stock at home is a simple, budget-friendly way to add flavor to soups, stews, and sauces while reducing waste by using vegetable scraps that might otherwise be discarded.

With just a few ingredients and a bit of time, you can create a delicious stock that enhances your cooking.

Start by collecting some vegetables. Onions, carrots, and celery are the usual choices, but you can add garlic, leeks, tomatoes, or mushrooms for extra flavor. You can use whatever vegetables you have in your kitchen, but try to avoid potatoes, which can make the stock cloudy, or strong greens like kale, which may taste too bitter. Fresh herbs like parsley, thyme, or bay leaves, and a few peppercorns, can also make the stock tastier.

Chop the vegetables roughly they don’t need to be perfect since you’re just using them to extract their flavor. Heat a large pot with a little oil and cook the vegetables for a few minutes until they smell good. Then, add enough water to cover them, about 8-10 cups for a regular pot. Bring the water to a gentle simmer.

Let the stock cook for 30-45 minutes. This gives the vegetables enough time to release their flavors into the water. Stir every now and then and enjoy the lovely smell as it cooks. When it’s ready, strain the stock through a fine sieve or a clean cloth to remove the vegetables, leaving you with a clear, tasty liquid.

You can keep your vegetable stock in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it in small portions for later use. It’s a versatile and satisfying base for many dishes and a great way to make the most of your vegetables while adding rich flavor to your meals.