The dish with the vege stock // The tastiest homemade Vegetable Stock

A quick & easy vege stock - paying homage to our forgotten comrades at the bottom of the fridge.

Making vege stock is made out to be so much harder than it actually is. The hardest part is choosing what to use your stock for. The opportunities are endless! Find my recipe below.

So without further adieu, here's my recipe. I usually use whatever is in the fridge but with this recipe i'll show you based on if i had everything I want. Give 'em all a little wash too.

The best Vegetable Stock you'll ever have.

750ml water (or thereabouts)

4 x garlic cloves, lightly crushed, skin on

2 x carrots, top end removed but skin on, and (yes the soft ones are fine)

1 x white/brown onion, studded with a few cloves (just push them into the flesh, say 5 or so)

1 x leek (go for the dark green bit too, its suuuuuper tasty)

1 x thumb of ginger, crush with side of knife

1 x handful herb stalks

1 x bunch of herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano etc)

2 x pieces of orange zest (just whip em off with a peeler)

Pinch of whole peppercorns, lightly crushed using the bottom of a pot

Bring this all to a boil then turn down to low and let simmer for about 45 mins or so. Scum will come to the surface and you can skim this off with a ladle. The scum is denatured protein, mostly comprising the same proteins that make up egg whites. It is harmless and flavourless, but visually unappealing. Eventually, the foam will break up into microscopic particles and disperse into your stock, leaving it a grayish colour and cloudy. The more vigorously your stock bubbles, the faster this process will occur. I have heard that it also traps the heat in, forcing the stock to boil quickly, so best to remove this for clarity and temperature control.

Additional pointers:

1. Avoid vege that stains, this should be clear (ish) like a consomme

2. If you wanted to make it into a meat based stock, simply add your spent meat bones

3. For even more flavour, roast them all up first then add to the water

4. Onion skins give the stock a cool bit of colour

5. It's really tasty to use simply as a drink on a cold day.

Buon Appetito, TFB