Veggie Stock

There is something about a hot pot of homemade soup that is both physically and emotionally satisfying.

If you are sick soup gives comfort.

If you are cold soup warms you up.

If you are weak soup nourishes you.

Canned soup can be good but nothing beats the homemade variety and the base for any good soup is the stock.

Making your own stock is both easy and fun and this recipe can be customized to suit almost any taste.

I make my stock in a pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot) but this can easily be adapted for stove top cooking.

My ingredient list is simple.

8 – 10 cups of water

1 small – medium onion quartered

2 – 3 carrots cut in half

2 – 3 celery stalks cut in half

3 – 4 garlic cloves

10 – 15 whole peppercorns

¼ – ½ teaspoon of salt

1 – 2 teaspoons of soya sauce

Splash of apple cider vinegar

To make the stock I add all the ingredients to the pressure cooker and set the timer for 15 minutes.  Once the cooking time is done I turn off the cooker and let the pressure naturally release.

Pour the broth over a strainer into a container (be careful the stock will still be hot) and you are done.

The broth can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for a significantly longer time.

I said this was easy.

If you don’t have a pressure cooker you can bring the ingredients to a boil in a covered pot on a stove top and simmer for 1 hour. The remaining steps are the same as for the pressure cooker method.

You can add whatever vegetables and spices that you think will taste good.  I prefer to add most of my seasonings when I use the broth to make a soup but sometimes I will add Italian herbs and red peppers to make a broth that is delish on its own.