PREP AND COOK TIME: 2½ HOURSMAKES: 2 LITRES
1 tablespoon butter
3 onions, roughly chopped
6 celery stalks, roughly chopped
3 large carrots, roughly chopped
2 leeks, pale part only, trimmed and cleaned, split and quartered
2 garlic cloves, bruised with the back of a knife
2 bay leaves (fresh if available, dried if not)
1 handful of thyme
1 handful of rosemary
1 handful of sage
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2.5 litres water
1. Melt the butter in a stockpot on high heat, add the, onion, celery, carrot and leek and sauté, stirring constantly, for 3-5 minutes. The goal here is to get a little bit of colour on the vegetables, this will increase the flavour.
2. Next add the garlic, herbs and peppercorns to the pot and cook the mixture for a minute to allow the flavours to infuse. Pour in the water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 2 hours until the liquid has reduced by a third. Remove from the heat and, if time permits, allow the stock to steep in the pot as it cools as this will ensure every last bit of flavour can be drawn out of the vegetables. If time is of the essence, you can use the stock straight away.
3. Pass the stock through a sieve and pass again through a sieve lined with muslin cloth. You have your finished stock ready to use for soups, jus, gravies or sauces. The stock can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or alternatively, you can freeze it for up to 3 months and use at a later date.
WILL So, Steve, what’s the go with stock? Is this something that I could do?
STEVE Absolutely, my friend. It’s something I want you to learn because sauces, stocks and jus aren’t created using witchcraft. And if you can do it, so can anyone else. This veggie stock includes the basic ingredients that most stocks do, so it’s a good one to start with. You will also see that to make a jus (flash name for what we used to call gravy), all you need to do is repeat the stock process with a couple of ingredient substitutions.
WILL Looking through the ingredient list, am I right in thinking that this stock is gluten free?
STEVE Yes sir, all our stocks and jus are GF. Using the natural gelatine you get from animal bones and the reduction process allows you to thicken liquids without the need for flour.