The Most Delicious Vegetable Broth Recipe
Get back to basics with this easy vegetable broth recipe which is both delicious and versatile. Watch as the Foodie Sisters in Italy, Benedetta and Valeria, take you through the preparation of their preferred method of making ‘brodo vegetale’ in this week’s video recipe.
A good vegetable broth recipe has a place in every Italian kitchen. A simple infusion of fresh veggies left to gently simmer for hours creating a liquid bursting with flavor, aroma, and nutrients which provides the backbone of so many possible dishes. The recipe takes minimum preparation time for the ingredients, the only thing you have to factor in is a couple of hours to leave the stock to boil. Much like the recipe for beef stock, try doing this once a week and keeping it in the fridge or freezer to use as and when you need it.
For their recipe, Valeria and Benedetta turn to their trusted cookbook ‘Il Talismano della Felicità‘ which calls not only for the usual broth ingredients of potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion but also adds an iron-rich injection of fresh spinach and the warming spiciness of clove. The preparation couldn’t be simpler but over two hours the alchemic combination of water and vegetables will create a glorious, golden-green, goodness which can be used as the stock base of risotto or stew, to add oomph to vegetable dishes and soups, or be boiled up with pastina or tortellini served with a generous topping of parmesan.
For best results use the freshest ingredients and wash the vegetables well before using. Peel the potatoes but do not chop them as the long cooking time will cause them to break down making your broth thick, cloudy, and starchy.
Vegetable Broth
3lt cold water
30g salt
3 medium potatoes
200g fresh spinach
2 onions
3 carrots
1 celery stalk
4 tomatoes
1 clove
Put three liters of cold water into a large saucepan and add the salt (the perfect proportion of water and salt is 10g of salt for every liter of water).
Peel the potatoes, onions, and carrots but do not chop them. Add to the pan whole along with the trimmed celery stalk, tomatoes, spinach, and one clove.
Bring the water to the boil, cover, and simmer for two hours.
Pass the broth through a fine sieve before using it with pasta or as a base for soups, stews, and risotto.
Buon appetito!
