Have you ever wondered if you could do more with all the veggie scraps you’re throwing away every time you cook?

The answer is YES.

We could be doing so much more. Think about it: a lot of time, energy, and resources went into growing the food that you buy, so not using all that can be used from it sounds pretty wasteful, doesn’t it?

In addition, having food to eat in the first place is a privilege when there are so many in the world who still do not. That’s why we believe it’s very important to get the most use of the food we have.

One very easy way to do that is to use your veggie scraps to make vegetable broth. This is great for 2 reasons:

1. You don’t waste all those veggie scraps that still contain a lot of flavor, and

2. You end up with some really delicious veggie broth that you can use to add more flavor to your cooking AND which saves you money since you don’t have to go out to the store to buy stock.

Sounds like a win-win, right? It is! Which gives us all the more reason to do it.

What to use veggie broth for

Veggie broth can be used in so many cooking processes, and it’ll only add more flavor! Cook rice or beans in it, add it to soups, stews, or even dressings instead of water. You can add it to your pasta sauce, to your hummus, or even your enfrijoladas sauce. The possibilities are endless!

The Recipe

You can use any vegetable scraps you have on hand and by all means don’t have to follow any specific recipe. You can include random odds and ends, herb stalks, peeled skins, mushroom stalks, leafy green stems, cauliflower and broccoli stalks, onion, and garlic skin… you get the picture. Ideally, it would be great if you could add a whole garlic clove or 2, or a 1/4 of an onion to it as well to enhance the flavor of the stock, but it’s not necessary if you don’t have any. You can also use your spice drawer—adding whole dried spices that you already have such as fennel, coriander, or caraway seeds is a simple way to add a lot of flavor to your stock. If you happen to have seaweed like a piece of kombu, that’s also great to throw in. Not only will it give it a nice umami flavor, but it’ll add healthy minerals to it, too!

Keep in mind the ratio of water to your veggies—the more water you have, the more diluted your broth will be. So a good rule of thumb for a flavorful broth is to add enough water to just cover your veggies. If you want a good amount of broth, this obviously requires a good amount of veggie scraps, so be mindful of that. Subsequently, if you want a more concentrated flavor, add less water and then cover the pot so that the veggie scraps get cooked with the steam.

Use the recipe below simply as a guideline, or as a starting point for your own stock. As I said, none of this has to be exact since the whole purpose of this is to use what you have.

A Note About Herbs and Other Delicate Greens

Be careful with herbs and other delicate greens such as leafy greens and celery leaves, as putting them in boiling water will cause them to oxidize and become unpleasant. Add all delicate greens at the end of the process, when you turn off the heat and leave the stock to cool. That way, the stock will absorb their flavor but not burn them.

 

 

Super Simple Veggie Broth

Makes 2 quarts

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns (optional)

1/4 tsp fennel seeds (optional)

1/2 piece star anise (optional)

1 bay leaf (optional)

2 quarts water

trim from 3 carrots, roughly chopped

trim from 2 zucchini, roughly chopped

trim from 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped

skin of 3 medium onions, roughly chopped

skin of 2 heads garlic, roughly chopped

10 mushrooms, stems only, roughly chopped

2 sprigs of fresh thyme, stems only

Cheesecloth for herbs (optional)

Directions:

1. If using dried spices, toast them first. Do this by heating the pot you’re going to use for your broth on medium-low heat. Add peppercorns, fennel seeds, and star anise to the pot and toast lightly for 10-15 minutes, or until fennel seeds are golden. Remove from pot and set aside to cool.

2. Once cool, make a little pouch out of cheesecloth (if using) that you can wrap your toated spices and bay leaf in. Tie it closed with some kitchen twine or make a knot with the cheesecloth itself.

3. Bring the pot up to medium heat. Add all your veggie scraps except the thyme stems. Stir them around and sweat in the dry pot for a couple of minutes to let them release some flavor and become fragrant. At this point, add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Take off the heat. Add thyme stems and let cool completely. Strain and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it—it can last in the freezer for up to 4 months.