Who says leftover vegetable scraps are all destined for the compost heap? There are many good uses for them, and making a homemade broth is one of them!
Lots of delicious recipes call for vegetable broth. From soups and risottos to couscous salads, cooking with broth is an excellent way to add extra flavor to a dish.
Store-bought broths sure are convenient, but many brands are high in sodium.
For example, half a cube (5.8g) of one popular company’s veggie broth contains 890mg of salt; 37% of the total daily recommended value! Yikes.
Making a homemade vegetable broth is a healthier option and also helps cut down on waste.
Get the most out of the food you grow and purchase by stretching discarded peels and pieces of plant-based food further.
You’ll save money in the process, too. Imagine having several cups of fresh, homemade vegetable broth waiting for your next culinary creation in the freezer? Talk about zero-waste!
Super Simple
Getting started is easy; Ricardo’s Vegetables First: 120 Vibrant Vegetable-Forward Recipes recommends saving vegetable scraps as they hit the chopping block. Store them in a labeled bag or container in the freezer.
Food items worth saving include washed carrot peels, leftover chunks of onions, garlic, potatoes, celery stalks, greens, bell peppers, tomatoes, leeks, mushrooms, and more.
Once you’ve collected about six cups worth of vegetable pieces, you’re ready to get cooking.
How To Make It
- In a large pot, bring 16 cups (4L) of water to a boil with 6 cups of roughly chopped vegetables.
- Add salt, pepper, a bay leaf, and some herbs of choice such as parsley, thyme, or rosemary.
- Reduce heat to medium and simmer for an hour or until the liquid is reduced by half.
- Pour the broth through a sieve or strainer into a second pot or container.
- Throw the vegetables into the compost!
- You should have about 8 cups of delicious broth, ready to be used in your next recipe. Freeze if desired.
Bon appetit!