Making your own vegetable broth is not a difficult or fancy thing at all. In fact, when you find yourself with too much produce that is near the expiration point this is a perfect idea. And since the broth can be refrigerated or frozen, you'll never have to waste any excess. Try pouring into ice cube trays and freezing for easy access to your broth by the tablespoons. Here is what I used, but the ingredients list is very flexible, depending on what you already have in your refrigerator.
4 carrots
1 entire bunch of celery
1/2 onion
2 handfuls kale
3 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
some spices of choice (parsley, basil, oregano, etc)
Roughly chop the veggies into large pieces. Put them in a slow cooker along with your spices. Cover with water and put on low for at least 8 hours. When it is finished it should smell like a delicious soup. Take a fine mesh strainer and discard the mushy vegetables.
There's really no specific recipe that says what kinds of vegetables have to be used, so don't go out and buy special ones just for making broth unless you don't have any to begin with. Of course this broth can be used as a soup base or for marinating meats. Enjoy.
I must make some of this! I would not toss the veggies but put them in a food processor with a small amount of the broth (just enough to cover them) and make a veggie bisque type soup. So healthy and delicious!
ReplyDeleteI made this last night and it came out sickeningly sweet, to the point where I had to throw it all out. I'm thinking it was the carrots, but really--4 carrots isn't all that much.
ReplyDeleteSImmie, I've never had that occur to me, so perhaps it was your carrots. Were they XL? I'm sorry it had to go to waste. :(
DeleteI just made broth using the majority of the ingredients listed above. The broth has a nice aroma and flavor. I generally include carrots, but didn't have any left over today. I included kale for the 1st time and will continue moving forward. Also included suggested spices of choice above - fresh parsley, basil, oregano, and added tarragon... I too keep the veggies and blend them in my NutriBullet.
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