Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Umami Stock

This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit's Vegan Umami Broth from 2017 to remove the onion and garlic, to add the use of vegetable ends, and to work with ingredients that I could find at my local stores, while trying to keep the deep flavor of the original recipe.

My vegetable ends are usually a mix of frozen mushroom stems, carrot ends and peels, and celery.
This recipe takes about 2 1/2-3 hours to make, but most of that is cooking time where you just need to check occasionally that nothing is burning or boiling over. I make it at least a day ahead of when I want to use it, so I don't have to worry about not getting the main dish finished in time.

Ingredients
  • 3 Tbsp white miso
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 1/4 tsp asofoetida
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom seeds
  • 8 dried shitake or wild mix mushrooms (optional)
  • 4 sheets of nori seaweed (or kombu)
  • 6-8 cups of frozen vegetable ends (mushrooms, carrots, and celery)
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns

Method
  • Preheat the oven to 300F. 
  • Line a rimmed baking sheet with baking parchment.
  • Defrost the vegetable ends in the microwave until they are loose enough to stir. You're not cooking them yet, just getting them to a point where they are easy to use. If possible use a large mixing bowl to microwave in; if not, then transfer the vegetables to a mixing bowl large enough to stir the sauce and nori into the vegetables without slopping over the sides of the bowl.
  • Mix the miso, vegetable oil, water, asofoetida, and cardamom together.
  • Crush the nori and mushrooms (if using) and sprinkle it over the defrosted vegetables
  • Add the miso mixture and stir the vegetables around until they are evenly coated in the mixture
  • Spread the coated vegetables on the rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes
  • Toss the vegetables to help even the baking, turn the oven up to 400F and bake for 30 more minutes.
  • Transfer the cooked vegetables to a large pot on the stove, add 4 quarts of water and the peppercorns.
  • Bring stock to a boil, then simmer uncovered and stirring occasionally until the broth is reduced by half about 60-75 minutes.
  • Let the broth cool, then strain through a fine mesh sieve, squeezing the vegetables to get as much broth out as possible. Refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

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