RECIPE: Umami Broth for Vegetarian Recipes

When I'm cooking for vegetarians I need ingredients that add umami since I can't use bone broth.  This broth was so flavorful I will make a larger batch next time. It would make a delicious warm drink on cold winter mornings.

Vegetarian Umami Broth Stock

Makes 6 pints concentrated stock

• 1 gallon broth from poaching onions*
• Outer peel from 4 large onions rinsed of dirt (it's high in quercetin and adds color)
• 1 leek, cleaned and sliced
• 2 heads garlic halved crosswise and root-end removed
• 4-6 carrots, scrubbed and sliced
• Celery leaves from inner stalks of one small head
• Small bunch parsley leaves and small stems (stems are more bitter than the leaves so go easy on them.)
• 4 medium tomatoes,halved and seed sacs removed (too many seeds can make it bitter)
• 1 small bell pepper, de-stemmed, de-seeded, de-ribbed, sliced (mine was 1/2 green, 1/2 red/yellow)
• Parmesan rind
• 1 bag frozen shiitake mushrooms (8 oz?)
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 5-6 allspice berries
• 1/4 t. roasted fennel seeds
• 1/4 t. dry thyme leaves
• 1 t. himalayan pink salt

Combine everything in a large stock pot (I use an 8-qt pot), bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 1-4 hours until flavors meld.   Taste it periodically and stop when you like the flavor.  If you cook it too long, it can get bitter.

Strain.  I use a nut milk bag because it gets all but the tiniest bit of sediment.

 

Return broth to medium heat and reduce to 1/2 gallon.

You can store it in the fridge or freezer but I pressure can it because I'm space-challenged.

Pressure Can in pint and/or half- pint jars for 20 minutes at 10# pressure (adjust for your altitude).

*Before canning or freezing onions, I poach them for 5 minutes.  The poaching water is very flavorful so I never toss it.  I either can it as is, or I use it as a base for veggie broth.  I freeze sliced onions for use in fajitas, omelets, and burgers; and I can chopped onions for use in bolognese, chili, curry, meatloaf, etc...  The sliced onions can be chopped after defrosting.