Homemade Veggie Stock Paste

A good stock is such a FLAVOUR STAPLE in my whole-foods kitchen.

This jar of goodness  is such a workhorse in my kitchen as it adds flavour to most of my dishes. I use a teaspoon or two for making a delicious stock in seconds or I add it in place of salt to season my food. Think quick soups, sauces and risottos!

I am so excited you can even download the recipe card to your devices – here – Veggie Stock Paste PDF

In terms of salt, the better the salt the better the paste, I promise there is really no place in your kitchen for table salt, I use fine pink Himalayan – you can read further on salt here

I would recommend using fresh organic vegetables and herbs here as it will make all the difference in taste. We are also going to add UMAMI rich ingredients including miso and mushrooms ensuring that this is a jar you definitely want hanging around in your fridge or freezer.

Finally you can say goodbye to watery veg stocks and lots of artificial ingredients in shop bought stock pastes, cubes or liquids.

If you are pressed for time you can whizz your veggies and herbs in food processor to save time or you can work on your knife skills and cut the veggie by hand.

This will make enough for one large jar but I would recommend putting it into smaller jars which you can freeze.

The stock will happily sit in your fridge for a month or two and in the freezer for up to 4 months.

The jars defrosts really quickly so you will never be without stock again!

I use the stock paste as a SEASONING instead of salt.

Add Flavour by Swirling through:

  • soups
  • stews
  • curries
  • sauces

Serving Suggestion

I normally add a teaspoon for 250ml but you can add as much teaspoons as you want to adjust the stock to your liking. Things like risottos and soup would need a weaker tasting stock but things like sauces would need something with a bit more punch.

Where to buy MISO

Investing in a jar or sachet of Miso is a wonderful way to add ‘oomph’ to your food. Miso is Japanese in origin and it is made by fermenting soy beans with a grain. Because of its fermentation process it is thought to be good for our guts as it’s a probiotic (food for our guts). It is salty and filled with ‘umami’ flavours.

In my kitchen I have a white one (from Clear Spring – which I got at Olive Branch Deli or Wellness Warehouse) and a brown one.

You can get some at any good health supermarket or deli.

Homemade Veggie Stock Paste

Say 'goodbye' to shop-bought stock cubes and HELLO to FLAVOUR!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 medium onions
  • 1 cup celery leaves
  • 200g celery
  • 4 medium carrots (250g)
  • 230g fresh chestnut mushrooms (2 cups)
  • 1 cup fresh tomatoes
  • 3 medium courgettes
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup seaweed (totally optional)
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp brown miso
  • 60g good Himylayan salt

Herbs

  • 2 bay leaves
  • few sprigs fresh sage leaves chopped
  • few sprigs fresh rosemary leaves chopped
  • few sprigs fresh thyme leaves chopped
  • few sprigs fresh basil leaves chopped
  • 15 g parsley leaves and stems (or use frozen stems), chopped

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oil in a large pot on a high heat, add all your ingredients including the chopped veggies, herbs, tomato paste, miso, dried mushrooms and salt and stir. We want to hear a sizzle when the veggies are added.
  • Cover and turn down the heat to medium. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the veggies are super soft and completely falling apart.
  • PS: we don’t want the mixture to be dry or sticking to the bottom, when lifting the lid to stir the veggies, let the water created by the steam drip down onto the veggies and add a little oil.
  • Once the veggies are super soft and cooled a little, whizz well with a hand blender until the mixture forms a ‘scoopable’ paste, this will take a few minutes. If the mixture is not blending properly, you could add a few tablespoons of water.
  • When using a food processor you might need to blend this in batches.
  • Add the mixture to the sterilised containers and store one in the fridge and the rest in the freezer.
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