Homemade Vegetable Broth

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms and cook, stirring now and then, until

   browned (how to brown)

   Brown Cook food in a hot pan until its surface turns brown, which adds rich, roasted flavor. 1. Pat the food dry; for ground meat, let the pan get hot first.2. Add a little oil and spread the food in one layer.3. Leave it alone for a few minutes so the bottom browns, then turn or break it up.4. Work in batches if it won't fit in one layer.5. Pour off extra fat if the recipe says to. Done when: Most surfaces are brown, not gray, and the bottom of the pan has browned bits (they are flavor, not burn). Safety: Hot oil spatters: dry the food first, lay it in the pan moving away from you, and keep a lid nearby. Never put water on an oil fire; slide the lid over it and turn off the heat. Browned outside doesn't mean cooked inside: ground beef needs 160°F, poultry 165°F.How to brown meat and vegetables: mistakes to avoid

   in spots.
   ⏱ Brown vegetables: 12 min
2. Add the leek, garlic and tomato paste and stir until the paste darkens a shade.
   ⏱ Toast paste: 2 min
3. Pour in the water and add the parsley, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Bring to a

   boil (how to boil)

   Boil Heat liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. 1. Use a pot big enough that the water fills it no more than three quarters.2. Cover it to boil faster, over high heat.3. Salt pasta or vegetable water once it boils.4. Add the food, stir, and bring it back to a boil before you start timing. Done when: A rolling boil keeps bubbling hard even when you stir. Safety: Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove, and drain pasta into a colander in the sink, pouring away from you. Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to boil water for pasta and vegetables: mistakes to avoid

   , then lower the heat to a gentle

   simmer (how to simmer)

   Simmer Cook liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles breaking the surface now and then. 1. Bring the liquid up over medium-high heat.2. As soon as bubbles rise steadily, turn the heat down.3. Adjust until only a few small bubbles break the surface every second or two.4. Stir now and then and check that it hasn't crept back to a boil. Done when: You see lazy, small bubbles, not a rolling boil. A "bare" simmer has just a bubble here and there. Safety: Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to simmer: mistakes to avoid

   .
   ⏱ Bring to a boil: 6 min
4. Simmer uncovered until the vegetables are very soft and the broth tastes full.
   ⏱ Simmer broth: 45 min
5. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl, pressing lightly on the vegetables, then throw the vegetables away.
6. Stir in the soy sauce if using and taste for salt. Cool the broth, then refrigerate it within 2 hours.

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Tips

• Leave out potatoes, which cloud the broth, and broccoli or cabbage, which turn it bitter.
• Keep a bag in the freezer for onion ends, carrot peels, celery leaves and mushroom stems, and add a few handfuls here.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Make ahead

Freeze the broth in 1- or 2-cup containers so you can thaw just what a recipe needs.

Cook once, eat twice: It makes 10 servings: eat half and freeze the rest. It keeps 3 months frozen, by the storage note above. Print a freezer label · More freezer meals

How long leftovers keep, and freezing and reheating: leftovers and storage. In season: carrots (September to March), leeks (October to March).