Umami Packed Vegetable Stock
Vegan vegetable stock is notoriously weak and flavorless. This recipe uses every trick in the book to pack this vegetable stock full of flavor and umami.
Servings: 3 quarts
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp White Miso
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 8 each Shiitake Mushrooms Dried
- 4 pieces Kombu 6x4 inch pieces
- 2 medium Onions unpeeled, sliced very thinly
- 2 each Carrots unpeeled, sliced thinly
- 1 each Celery stalk thinly sliced
- 1 each Head of Garlic halved crosswise
- 6 sprig Parsley stems
- 2 sprig Thyme
- 1 tsp Black Peppercorns freshly cracked
- 2 each Bay leaf
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300º. Whisk miso, oil, and 2 Tbsp. hot water in a small bowl. Crush mushrooms and kombu with your hands over a rimmed baking sheet. Add onions, carrot, celery, and garlic. Drizzle miso mixture over vegetable mixture and toss to coat. Bake, tossing halfway through, until vegetables are slightly shriveled golden and fragrant, 60–75 minutes.
- Transfer vegetable mixture to a large pot. Add peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme and parsley and 4 quarts cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer gently, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until broth is reduced by one third, 60–75.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large metal bowl or pan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Place container in an ice bath and chill until it reaches 70 degrees fahrenheit. You can either refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for later use.
Notes
I couldn't stand to let the shiitake mushrooms and kombu go to waste so I picked them out of the strained vegetables and sliced them into bite size pieces. Toss with some sesame oil and soy for a healthy vegan treat.