Wanted to make Swedish Meatballs, which called for vegetable stock for making that awesome brown sauce. One could probably buy a box from upmarket grocers like Village Grocer or B.I.G., but it costs close to 10 ringgit for a half-litre box of basically veggie scraps simmered in water. Looking through the ingredients list and seeing stuff like sugar, glucose, and a bunch of chemicals I can’t even recall, I figured I’d make it myself using stuff pulled from my fridge.
I happened to be making Chicken Yakisoba the night before and I saved the carrot peel and mushroom stems. I was also making Duck Fat Mashed Potatoes to go with the meatballs, so I had a pile of potato peels to toss into the pot, along with the stems I snipped from all the remaining shiitake I bought for making the yakisoba. In short, you can save the scraps from the vegetables you cook every day, and at the end of the week make a pot of flavorful, all-natural vegetable stock using the following recipe as a base.
Just looking through my fridge I can imagine it already; asparagus ends, celery roots, eggplant stems… so many possibilities. Here’s a useful guide on what type of veggies will or will not work in your stock.
The question is, what to do with it all? It definitely gave my Swedish Meatballs gravy such a wonderful flavor, for sure. Perhaps I can look at other recipes for ideas.
Recipe from Allrecipes.com.
Vegetable Stock
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped into 1-inch chunks
- 1 stalk celery including leaves, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large carrot, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 stalk green onions, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 sprigs fresh Italian parsley
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Additional vegetables – mushroom stems, potato peel, etc.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 liter water
Directions
In a large stockpot over high heat, heat the oil.
Add the onion, celery, carrots, green onions, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaves and any other desired vegetables or scraps. Cook, stirring frequently, 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the salt and water, and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes.
Strain the stock using a fine mesh sieve. Discard the vegetables.
Use as desired.
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