Homemade vegetable stock is very easy to make, it's more flavorful and comes handy when you are in a hurry to make soup or a risotto or stews.
Creating a vegetable stock that has a decent shelf life has been in my bucket list for long as I don't like to use stock cubes, because I don't know what preservatives are added to them.
In this recipe I have used 20% salt of the total weight of vegetables and herbs used. The salt may seem to much but salt is the only preservative we are using. Secondly remember we have to use only 2 tsp powder or a tbsp of paste for a litre of liquid. You can adjust this amount further depending on your taste.
This recipe is inspired from this blog
Ingredients
Carrot 1 medium
Onion 1 medium
Tomato 1 medium
Bay leaf 1
Celery 1 stalk
Mixed herbs 1 tbsp
Coriander stems 40 gms
Garlic 2 fat cloves
Ginger 1 tbsp grated
Water 3/4 cup
Salt 60 gms
Fresh Basil a handful
Method
Weigh the vegetables and herbs.
My vegetables weighed 300 gms so I have taken 60 gms salt, which is 20 % of the total weight.
Wash and chop all the vegetables and herbs into small pieces so that they cook faster.
Add water and cook it on low, till the vegetables become tender.
Let it cool. Now make a puree in a blender.
Pass it through a sieve, press hard to release as much pulp as possible.
Put this pulp back on heat and reduce it further, until it becomes very thick.
Let it cool completely.
If you want to use it as a paste, then keep it in an ice tray, approximately 1/ 2 tbsp in each cavity.
Freeze it. Use as needed.
If you want to make a powder, spread it on a silicon mat and keep it in a preheated oven at 150 degrees Celsius for and hour or more till it dries completely.
Let it cool completely and then powder it in a coffee grinder.
Store it in a glass bottle.