Do you like free things? I do, and I love making vegetable stock from kitchen scraps because it's basically free. As in, I was going to throw out my onion skins and leek ends and herb stems but instead I can turn them into a delicious savory broth that I could have spent $5 on at the grocery store.
It's super easy, although you'll likely have to build up to it by saving your scraps over the course of a bunch of meals. I stash a Stock Bag in the freezer (read more in the No-Waste Strategies section) and nearly every time I make dinner I add vegetable scraps like the following:
skins and ends of allium, like onions, shallots, garlic, scallions and leeks
cobs of corn
ends and peels of root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, potatoes, beets
ends and leaves or fronds of stalks like celery, fennel and asparagus
stems of mushrooms
stems of herbs
cores of peppers
and then any whole vegetables versions of the above that are wilted, but not yet spoiled or moldy
other flavor enhancers: Parmesan rinds or seaweed such as kombu
Basically anything except members of the Brassica family (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, etc, as those can make your stock bitter.
If you want, you can also save bones from chicken carcasses or ribs or whatever cheap bones you can get at the butcher (raw or salvaged from the dinner table)and stash them in the bag alongside your veggie scraps to make Meat Stock.
Once you accumulate enough to fill roughly half of your largest pot, it's time to make stock! Note that if you plan to use this in a recipe where the flavor relies on the stock, like soup or risotto, you’ll probably want to add some fresh vegetables, like a chopped onion and a couple of carrots to deepen and even out the flavor. But if I just want some quick and easy stock on hand to boost the flavor of multiple dishes, I will just use whatever scraps I have on hand.
The Rough Recipe
Put all your scraps in the pot and add water until everything starts to float. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to simmer. If you're using any meat, skim the surface of any foam. Simmer for at least 30-45 minutes, but ideally a few hours. It can take meat bones as long as 6 to 8 hours to release all their flavor.
Strain the stock through a fine-meshed sieve (or cheesecloth or coffee filters) and let cool, composting or discarding the solids. The stock will last for at least a week in the fridge and months in the freezer.
What to do with your stock? Make noodle soup, use it instead of water to cook your grains for Grain Bowls, make Tuscan Bread Soup with leftover bread, add it to Greens Gratin, make Simple Braised Greens or Any-Roasted-Vegetable Soup (recipes to come!).
