Vegetable broth is a tasty and aromatic stand-alone dish, as well as an excellent base for soups, sauces and main courses.
It is ideal for those who are health conscious and want to get the most nutrients from their vegetables.
But to make the vegetable broth tasty and aromatic, you should know some subtleties.
What You Need to Know About Vegetable Broths
1. The ideal way to prepare: boil the vegetables for 20 minutes, cover the pan with a lid and leave it at room temperature for 24 hours. This way you can get the most useful aromatic infusion. If you don't have time, just boil the vegetables for 1.5 hours.
2. Vegetables are poured with cold water and brought to a boil. Then the heat is reduced to a minimum. There should be no active boiling. Ideally, rare bubbles should rise from the bottom from time to time. There is no need to cover the pan with a lid.
3. The standard set of ingredients for vegetable broth is onions, carrots and celery stalks. This is how chefs usually cook. But in home cooking it is worth experimenting. Try adding celery root, parsley, parsnips, throw in red pepper, tomatoes, turnips or another root vegetable.
4. Don't forget about herbs and spices. Not only bay leaves and black peppercorns will do, but also cherry leaves, thyme, oregano, dill, coriander, caraway, etc.
Roasted Vegetable Broth Recipe
This option is suitable for those who want to quickly get a tasty aromatic broth. This effect is achieved by frying, when the oil absorbs the taste and aroma of the vegetables, and then gives it to the water.
Ingredients:
- 1 onion;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 2 carrots;
- 2 celery stalks;
- 1 leek;
- 1 potato;
- 2 tablespoons olive oil;
- 2 liters of water;
- salt and pepper to taste
How to cook
1. Start by peeling and cutting all your vegetables into roughly equal-sized pieces. The smaller you cut them, the faster they will cook.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft and fragrant.
3. Add carrots, celery, leeks, potatoes and fry them together with onions and garlic for 5-7 minutes.
4. Add 2 liters of water to the pan and place over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let the broth simmer for 30-40 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the contents to cool. Then strain the liquid through a fine sieve to remove any vegetable residue.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir.
7. The finished vegetable broth can be served hot or used to prepare other dishes such as soups, stews or sauces.
You can also make mixed broths, for example, from vegetables and chicken. They should either be cooked separately and then combined, or the vegetables should be added an hour before the meat is finished cooking.
