I always wanted to make my own vegetable stock… but I was inspired when I read about a year ago that someone had made a roasted vegetable stock to give added body to an Onion Soup. I have wanted to make a vegetarian version of Onion Soup for a long time too. Why a vegetarian version? It’s onion soup… no? In case you were not aware, onion soup is made traditionally using beef stock or beef consommé – making it unsuitable for vegetarians.
So based on the idea that if you roast something in the oven it concentrates its flavors we got our hands dirty and made home-made roasted vegetable stock. It’s simple; it just has a lot of ingredients and takes a little while.
ROASTED VEGETABLE STOCK
2 medium carrots, cut into large chunks 2 medium onions, quartered 4 stalks celery, cut into large chunks 2 medium zucchini, cut into large chunks 2 bell peppers, green or red, roughly chopped 1 leek, washed well 1 large shallot, cut in half with skin on 2 garlic heads A bunch of flat leaf parsley Olive oil Salt and Pepper 1 tbs Herbamare seasoning 1 cup crushed tomatoes 12 cups of water 4 bay leaves ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- First we need to roast the vegetables to make the stock… so pre-heat the oven to 400° F.
- Place all the cut veggies (carrots thru parsley) in 2 baking sheets. I tried to fit them all in one, but they were too much for my baking sheets. Drizzle them lightly with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper generously. Sprinkle the Herbamare too. Using your clean hands, toss all the veggies until they’re well coated with the oil and seasonings. Try to add as little oil as possible, because if you add too much oil now, it will make your stock oilier later on.
- Roast in the oven for approximately 30-40 minutes, turning the vegetables once during cooking. Try for the veggies not to get too dark.
- When the vegetables are done roasting, transfer them to the largest, deepest pot you have… I had to do this in two batches because I do not own large enough pots.
- To the roasted vegetables in the mega large pot you’ll add the water, the tomatoes, bay leaves and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the flavors are extracted into the water.
- Let the stock cool down a bit so you can safely handle it. When it is cool enough, strain the stock using a large colander over a very large bowl. I suggest you strain the stock again using a fine mesh to make the stock as clear as possible.
Now you can store the stock in a bowl for use in the very near future or you can transfer to freezer bags and freeze in 1 cup or 2 cup increments to use later when making soups or risottos.
This yielded me about 10 cups of stock. I used about 9 cups for the French Onion Soup and saved the rest for future use.
Easy to do and the flavor is spectacular.
KarmaFree Cooking 