Vegetable Stock

Name: Vegetable Stock
Yield: 1.5
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 brown onion, roughly chopped (skin on); 1 carrot, roughly chopped; 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped; Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling; 1.8 litres water; 3 black peppercorns; Handful parsley stalks

A good vegetable stock can be the base of great soups, risotto, casseroles and many other dishes. Roasting the vegetables before boiling them adds further flavour and depth. Stock freezes really well too, so you can always have some on hand. Once you see how simple it is, you’ll never buy stock again. See video below for how to make brown chicken stock.

Makes about 1.5 litres

Ingredients

1 brown onion, roughly chopped (skin on)
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1.8 litres water
3 black peppercorns
Handful parsley stalks

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C.
Place onion, carrot and celery on a baking tray, toss with a drizzle of oil and arrange in a single layer.
Place in the oven for 25 minutes or so, until lightly coloured.
Transfer to a large saucepan with the remaining Ingredients, adding any juices from the tray and any bits that have stuck to the baking tray.
Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover almost completely with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
Set aside for 30 minutes then pour through a fine sieve lined with muslin or a clean damp cloth, discarding solids.
Refrigerate vegetable stock or freeze until needed.