Vegetable Stock

For a darker, richer stock, place the vegetables in a baking dish with a little water or oil and roast them in a 400F oven until lightly browned, making sure to add any browned bits that might stick to the pan. If you use oil to sweat the vegetables, cool and defat the stock as you would a meat stock; otherwise defatting is unnecessary, as the stock will be fat-free.

Note: You can make a basic vegetable stock using just carrot, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Add other vegetables if available for a more complex stock.

• 2 ounces vegetable oil (if desired)
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 leek (white part only), washed and chopped
• 1 small head garlic, sliced in half horizontally
• 5 quarts cold water
• 2 ribs celery, sliced
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 large potato, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 small or Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 6 sprigs fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 leaves fresh sage
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sachet d'epices containing: 1/2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns, 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, 2 whole cloves (place in a square of cheesecloth, tie into a sack)

Add the oil to a stockpot and place the onion, leeks and garlic in the pot; sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes until they're wilted and tender. Alternately, instead of oil add about 1/2 cup of water and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Strain the stock, pressing the vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible. Cool and store properly.

Yield: 1 gallon