Vegetable Stock

I’ve been putting up a ton of produce this summer (mostly fruit, including tomatoes), and a set of those recipes is forthcoming. But this is what I’m eating right now: veggie soup, made fresh, that tastes like it took hours to make.  The base is a concentrated stock that I made a couple weekends ago while canning, from a recipe in the River Cottage Preserves Handbook.  It’s incredibly simple, and also helps to use up the tail end of some forgotten veggies in your pantry/fridge!

This is eminently alterable, depending on availability of veg and your preferences; just pay attention to the ratio of veg to salt (about 4:1).  I like to put all the rough-chopped veg into a bowl and weigh it, then add salt accordingly.  The salt is useful in bringing out the flavors, and probably plays a bit of a role in preserving the mixture, too.

2-3 leeks (white part)
1 fennel bulb
3-4 carrots, peeled & cut in chunks
2-3 celery stalks, cut in chunks
handful of sun-dried tomatoes, soaked
2-3 shallots, peeled
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled
handful of parsley
about a tablespoon of fresh rosemary or cilantro

Throw in the food processor and blend.  Stop when you can still individual pieces of veggies; you don’t want to make mush out of this. The color is awful, and you want to have recognizable bits of veg in your soup.

Pack it all away in a jar in the fridge, and use at the ratio of about 1 t. to 1 c. water.  I sometimes drop it in a hot pan w/ a little evoo and cook it for just a couple minutes before adding boiling water.  Add fresh veggies and white beans, or rice or pasta, or whatever you like!