This is an easy way to make a quick, flavorful vegetable stock in minutes:
1. Fill a pot with water that equals the amount of stock you’ll need, plus one cup. Put it on the stove over medium-high heat.
2. Now it is time to add flavorings. The idea here is to use a little more than you would when making a conventional stock, as this will not be simmering on the back of your stove for a long time. Based on the 9 cups of water in my pot, I add:
• 1 tablespoon of peppercorns
• 2 or 3 bay leaves
• 1 small yellow onion cut into chunks
• 2 – 3 cloves of garlic
• A sprig of fresh thyme or a large pinch of dried
3. Cover the pot loosely with the lid to encourage the water to come to a boil quickly. When it reaches a boil, reduce to a simmer and leave the lid off.
4. Meanwhile, continue to prep for your soup. As you cut up vegetables, add the scraps to your stock pot: carrot and onion ends, mushroom and celery and tomato trimmings, stalks from greens, etc. This will help the stock to reinforce the flavors of your soup.
5. Begin to make your soup, keeping your stock simmering away. Ideally, the stock should simmer for at least 15 minutes, although the longer it simmers, the more flavor you will get. When you arrive at the step where the stock is called for, simply strain it right into the pot (or into another pot and then transfer it to your soup.)
I didn’t add any salt, as I am going to control how much salt is in my final product.
