Vegetable stock

[OahuAmateurChef]

I'm making my first ever batch of vegetable stock right now....well as soon as the pressure cooker starts to hiss. I love this pressure cooker so far. The apartment smells GOOD right now. I'm using this "recipe" as a guideline. I never realized how easy vegetable stock is. I literally dumped almost all of my leftover and starting to turn bad veggies in the pot with some water and that is it.

What does everybody else do when the recipe calls for vegetable stock? In a can? In a carton? Homemade from the freezer?

[OahuAmateurChef]

I can't believe I just made almost 12 cups of veggie broth out of roughly $3 in vegetables that I was going to throw out anyway. I am completely sold on home made broth! And the apartment STILL smells delicious!

[Mezzaluna]

OahuAmateurChef, I like the philosophy of the recipe author. I don't have a pressure cooker (too timid for what I regard as a bomb on my stove ), but I'd try making it. I always think of vegetable stock as insipid even though I've tasted some that has wonderful flavors.

What will you use the stock for?

[shel]

Originally Posted by Mezzaluna

I always think of vegetable stock as insipid even though I've tasted some that has wonderful flavors.

What will you use the stock for?

There are several recipes for veggie stock in my archives, but I most often go back to a simple stock recipe that was found in an old diabetic cookbook which I've punched up a bit with the addition of fire roasted tomatoes, a small piece of chipotle or other dried chile, and a few other ingredients. It's so simple to make - as are pretty much all vegetable stocks - that I make it often.

I use it as a basis for vegetable soups of all sorts, use it as the liquid in which to cook rice and other grains, and sometimes just heat up a big cup and enjoy sipping it on a cold day.

Here's a recipe that I've used a number of times:

VEGETABLE STOCK
Cooking of the Italian Jews

This particular stock recipe comes from the old Jewish settlement in the town of Pitigliano, in Tuscany, and is well over 150 years old.

2 medium leeks (white part)
2 quarts cold water
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 medium turnips, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
2 large stalks of celery cut into 2-inch pieces
3 - 4 sprigs Italian parsley
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut up
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 large Turkish bay leaves (Do not use Bay Laurel leaves)
2 large fresh basil leaves or 1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 green zucchini, trimmed and cut up
1/4 lb green beans, trimmed and cut up
1 Tbs salt (optional, but no more than this amount)

Remove roots and trim tough tops from leeks. Quarter leeks lengthwise and cut into pieces about 2 - 3 inches long. Clean leeks thoroughly with plenty of cold water. Put leeks, and all the other ingredients, into a large stockpot with 2 quarts of cold water.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for about 30 - 45 minutes. Strain through a fine strainer or a couple of layers of damp cheesecloth.

Shel