Basic Vegetable Stock

Five ingredients and 30 minutes of simmering. That’s all it takes to have a batch of homemade vegetable stock that tastes leagues better than anything from a box.

This stock uses the classic mirepoix base: celery, onions, and carrots, with a bunch of parsley stalks thrown in for a grassy, herbal backbone. Everything gets chopped coarsely (no need for precision here), boiled, then pureed and strained through a sieve. The result is a clear, clean-tasting stock with real depth.

Pureeing before straining is the smart move here. It squeezes every bit of flavor from the vegetables before you discard the solids, giving you a more concentrated stock than simply boiling and draining.

Kitchen Tips

• Don’t peel the onions. The skins add a golden color to the stock.
• Save vegetable scraps (leek tops, fennel fronds, mushroom stems) throughout the week and add them to the pot for extra complexity.
• Cool the stock completely before refrigerating. Hot stock in a sealed container can breed bacteria.
• Freeze in ice cube trays for easy portioning. Pop them out and store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.

Variations

• Add a few whole peppercorns and a bay leaf during simmering for a more seasoned stock.
• Roast the vegetables first for a darker, more caramelized flavor.
• Toss in a knob of fresh ginger and a stalk of lemongrass for an Asian-style vegetable stock.