Homemade Vegetable Stock

This homemade vegetable stock has been a part of my soups, risottos, and other vegetarian cooking for a couple months now. Before this I was pretty addicted to the Trader Joe’s vegetable stock concentrate packets, but they’re only sporadically available in the stores. I live in fear of them being discontinued, so I decided I needed to try my hand at making my own veggie stock. This version was recommended to me by a coworker, who had developed the recipe for a vegetarian cooking class. It does take more time (and potentially money) to make this stock, but I love knowing exactly what is in my food! And I took another coworker’s advice to reduce the stock by about half, and then to freeze it in ice cube trays. These little concentrated cubes are great to have in my freezer, ready for any vegetarian cooking needs.

Homemade Vegetable Stock

from The Chopping Block

Yield: 8-10 cups stock

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 medium onions, large dice

3 medium carrots, large dice

3 stalks celery, large dice

2 bulbs fennel, large dice

3 cups cremini mushrooms, rough chopped

1 cup white wine

12 cups water

3 roma tomatoes, cut into large pieces

1/2 bunch parsley stems

6 sprigs fresh thyme

10-15 black peppercorns

1. Preheat oven to 425º.

2. In a heavy roasting pan, toss together the olive oil, onions, carrots, celery, fennel and mushrooms. Roast until lightly caramelized, about 25-30 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables to a stockpot.

3. Deglaze the roasting pan with the white wine, scraping up any browned bits. Add the wine to the stockpot.

4. Add the water, tomatoes parsley, thyme and peppercorns to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes.

5. Strain the stock through a fine sieve, chill until room temperature and refrigerate for up to 5 days.