Recipe: Lemony Vegetable Broth

Recipe Source: Botascos, Jim.  The New Greek Cuisine.  Broadway Books, New York, 2006 p. 280

I needed some broth for a big dinner I was preparing.  Many of the recipes I had in mind called for broth of some sort.  I initially bought prepared chicken broth in an effort to save time and energy, but upon further review decided that chicken broth was probably not the best choice here.  First of all, this dinner was taking place while camping.  Cooler space was going to be at a premium and re-heating some of these dishes would have been challenging at best.  Secondly, I had no idea who was coming to this dinner, and I wanted to make sure that there were things that were acceptable to vegetarians.  Enter this broth.

I made a couple of changes.  First, I doubled the recipe.  I probably didn't need double the recipe for this occasion, but it's always better to have homemade broth on hand.  I used a handful of Grains of Paradise in place of whole peppercorns, because I could find the Grains of Paradise readily.  I omitted the tomato paste, because this dinner was at a medieval re-creation event and tomato paste does not show up in medieval recipes.  Finally, I added a bunch of sliced lemons.  This was because both my husband and I really enjoy the flavor of lemons and I wanted to add the lemon flavor to the dishes I planned to make.  There were a couple of procedural changes too. 

The result was exactly what I wanted it to be.  The picture is a little unclear, because the camera had a hard time focusing on a frankly cloudy broth, but the taste was spot on and the smell was amazing.  It's a great broth to have on hand whenever you might want a soup or even just to dress up some rice. 

Lemony Vegetable Broth (makes 24 cups; approx. $0.37/cup)

1 bunch parsley stems

1 head of garlic, peeled

10 whole grains of paradise, or to taste

4 bay leaves

6 celery stalks, diced

4 carrots, diced

4 onions, diced

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 gallons water

Kosher salt to taste

8 lemons, sliced

Equipment:

• Roasting pan
• Stock pot
• Strainer

1.  Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Combine the celery, carrots and onion in the roasting pan.  Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables, mix well, and roast 15 - 20 minutes.
3. Place the parsley stems, garlic, grains of paradise and bay leaves in the stock pot.
4. Add the roasted vegetables and the water.  Add a pinch of kosher salt or to taste. 
5. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, skimming frequently. 
6. Lower the heat.  Add the lemons and simmer 40 minutes. 
7. Strain into a clean container.  Use immediately or freeze. 

Comments

[Ch]

I am a stock making fiend, I had never thought of adding lemon, what a freaking great idea!

[Marta]

What a great idea!
Thsnk for introducing it to us!

[Sophie]

What a lovely stock : looks really good!

[Jennifer]

As I add a splash of lemon juice to broth, your recipe is very appealing to me. I am new to grains of paradise though. Thanks for the tips!

[Fearless Kitchen]

Jennifer - I've always loved the flavor of lemon, but I didn't use as much of it until I married a Greek guy. His whole family puts lemon on or in everything! It really brightens up most everything it touches.

Sophie - Thank you! Easy and versatile, too :)

Marta - Thanks!

Ch - I should be better about making stock and keeping it around, but my freezer is the size of a postage stamp which makes it difficult.