Light vegetable stock
1 hour 15 min
This light stock is suitable for vegetarian dishes and for fish, poultry or meat recipes when a delicate flavour is required.
Azmina Govindji
1 person made this
Ingredients
Serves: 6
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 225 g (8 oz) leeks, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large bay leaf
- several sprigs of fresh thyme
- several sprigs of parsley, stalks bruised
- 225 g (8 oz) carrots, diced
- 3 large celery sticks with any leaves, diced
- ½ tsp salt
- 5 black peppercorns
Method
Prep:15min ›
Cook:1hr ›
Ready in:1hr15min
- Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan or stockpot. Add the leeks and onion, stir well and reduce the heat to low. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and leave the vegetables to sweat for about 20 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally but without lifting the lid.
- Add the bay leaf, thyme, parsley, carrots, celery and salt. Pour in 2 litres (3 ½ pints) cold water and increase the heat to high. Bring slowly to the boil, skimming the surface of the liquid to remove any scum.
- As soon as the water boils and all the scum has been removed, add the peppercorns and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes.
- Strain the stock into a large, heatproof bowl and set it aside to cool. Use at once or cool and then chill until required.
Plus points
Because this stock is mild and has a light flavour, it works well when used as a cooking liquid for rice and pasta and adds useful nutrients to the meal.
Note
Home-made stocks, such as this one, contain some calories (approximately 33 kcal per pint) and a small amount of fat (3–4 g per 500 ml/1 pint), but also contribute beneficial nutrients.
