Veg Stock
A sweet, savoury vegetable stock with carrot, onion, celery, leek, mushrooms and herbs.
makes 47 cubes, about 6p each
- Time
- 1 hr10 min prep · 50 min cook
- Makes
- 47 cubes
- Cost per cubePer cube
- 6p
- Calories per cubeCalories
- 9 kcal
- A serving
- 4 cubes
- Spice
- 1 of 5
You’ll need
- 3 (300g)carrots
- 2 (300g)onions, halved, skins on
- 3 sticks (150g)celery
- 1 (150g)leek
- 150gmushrooms
- 4 cloves (20g)garlic
- 2gpeppercorns, bay and thyme
- 20gparsley stalks
- 2Lcold water
Allergens: Celery. Check the labels on stock cubes, sauces and pastes, as brands vary.
Use it for
Vegetable risotto: 4 cubes plus 300ml water · 4 cubes; Soup base · 6 cubes; Cooking liquid for grains and lentils · 3 cubes
Method
- Step 1: Chop the veg roughly and put everything in a large pan with the cold water.
- Step 2: Bring to a simmer and cook gently, partly covered, for 45 minutes.
- Step 3: Strain through a sieve, pressing the veg to get all the liquid out.
- Step 4: Cool quickly.
- Step 5: Pour into 30ml trays and freeze.
| kcal | protein | carbs | fat | fibre | salt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per cube | 9 | 0.3g | 1.7g | 0.1g | 0.5g | 0g |
| Per 4 cubes | 36 | 1.2g | 6.8g | 0.4g | 2g | 0g |
Cook’s notes
- Straight from frozen into the pan.
- Onion skins give the stock a golden colour.
- Avoid cabbage and broccoli; they make stock bitter.
Use it for
- Vegetable risotto: 4 cubes plus 300ml water · 4 cubes
- Soup base · 6 cubes
- Cooking liquid for grains and lentils · 3 cubes
Freeze, reheat and serve
- Freeze
- Cool it within two hours, freeze it in 30ml ice-cube trays, then bag and label the cubes. It keeps for 6 months.
- Use from frozen
- Straight from frozen into the pan. Never refreeze thawed cubes.
- A portion
- 4 cubes is a serving: about 36 kcal.
Veg Stock questions
Why start with cold water?
Bringing the vegetables up to a simmer slowly with the water gives their flavour time to come out, and a gentle simmer keeps the stock clear.
Should I add salt?
Leave it unsalted. That way you can use it in anything, reduce it if you like, and season the finished dish to taste.
How can I give it a deeper flavour?
Roast the vegetables until browned before simmering, or add a few dried mushrooms or a spoonful of tomato purée to the pan.
You might also like
Updated . Nutrition, costs and yields are estimates.