This is the go-to vegetable broth that I use in place of store-bought varieties. Simple, delicious, and full of vitamins, it’s incredibly satisfying. Since clear veggie broth requires no digestion in your stomach it can be sipped in small amounts throughout the day, or eaten along with other cooked veggies at meals. Use this in any recipe that calls for broth, and as a base for stir-fries, pasta, risotto, and other soups. If you like a more complex flavor, add a small bulb of fennel, a stick of celery, half a leek, or some black peppercorns and bay leaves. Store the broth in small sealed containers in the freezer so you don’t have to defrost a whole batch every time you want to use it.—Excerpt from EATING CLEAN by Amie Valpone. Copyright © 2016 by Amie Valpone. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Recipe makes 3 quarts
INGREDIENTS
- 6 large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 large red onion, skin on, cut into large chunks
- 1 large daikon radish, cut into large chunks
- 2 cups shiitake mushrooms
- 4 garlic cloves, skin on, crushed
- 2 tablespoons dulse flakes, optional
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 12 cups water
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Toss-ins to add flavor to broths: soy-free chickpea miso paste, kombu seaweed, dulse seaweed, nori seaweed, Himalayan pink salt, sea salt, or Amie Valpone’s Flavored Sea Salts, bean sprouts, bok choy, toasted sesame seeds, leafy green carrot tops, mushroom stems, pulp from juicing carrots and green veggies such as celery.
DIRECTIONS
In a large stockpot, combine the carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, onion, daikon radish, mushrooms, garlic, dulse (if desired), thyme, and parsley. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover loosely, and simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reserve vegetables to eat separately as is, or add them to other recipes for sauces and stews. Cool completely and store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.