Over Easter I did a lot of cooking! I made two carrot cakes, a roast dinner, special side dishes, and more. This left me with a lot of vegetable scraps that I could either put in my compost, or try to do something with.
I decided to save up those onion peels, garlic skins, carrot shavings, and extra bits to put in my freezer. I was able to fill a large tupperware container to the brim with scraps! A week later, it was time to make those scraps into a yummy vegetable broth. Here's how I did it:
I used roughly three cups of vegetable scraps and cooked them in oil at a high heat for 5 minutes.
I then added some fresh herbs (I chose to add sage and rosemary, but it's totally up to you) and turned the heat to medium-low. After another few minutes, I added 4 cups of water and put the lid on the pot.
After 10 minutes at a light boil, I added a few parmesan rinds, and a pinch each of black pepper, red crushed pepper flakes, and salt.
I let the broth boil for another twenty minutes and then added the juice from one half of a lemon to add some acidity - this is optional but I do find it really adds to the flavour!
I then drained the liquid into a large bowl so that it was ready to be used without any loose veggie bits floating around!
I now had some delicious veggie broth available to use as a base for soup, risotto, pot pie, and so much more!
Some people like to add bones to their broth which is always a great way to have more flavour! You can also put in extra vegetables like onions, peas, mushrooms, etc. to add different notes to your broth - umami, sweetness, savoury.
I haven't tried it myself, but you can pour your broth into ice cube trays so that you always have some on hand for any of your cooking needs! Sounds like a great tip to me!
Enjoy making your broth! It's a fun way to reduce your kitchen waste, be creative with food, and delight in local flavours.
