lush mushroom broth

Calling all vegans! This is a completely plant-based broth that’s packed with umami and is dare I say it?…Meaty. It’s a great foundation for soups, risottos, and a key component of vegetarian French onion soup (which - sorry - is not vegan). The key is to build flavor through sautéing and the addition of naturally umami-rich ingredients.

stock recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup or so dried porcini mushrooms (AKA cèpes or boletes)

  • Extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped

  • 8 ounces mixed mushrooms, mostly cremini or white button, sliced

  • 2 medium/large carrots, chopped

  • 1 large celery stalk, chopped

  • 1 garlic clove, smashed but left whole

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste

  • 1 piece of dried kombu (kelp - you can skip this if you can’t find it. I buy it at natural food stores)

  • a couple sprigs of fresh thyme

  • 1 bay leaf

  • sea salt

  • ground black pepper

  • a couple sprigs of parsley

  • water

Instructions:

  1. Reconstitute dried porcinis: place them in a bowl and pour very hot water over them to cover. Place a small plate or lid on top and let them soak for at least an hour.

  2. In a large, heavy Dutch oven or stock pot, heat a few tablespoons olive oil and put in the chopped onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for around 10 minutes, until onions are softened and perhaps a little colored around the edges. Meanwhile, remove porcinis from liquid, squeezing out as much liquid as you can back into their bowl. Important: reserve the soaking liquid. Chop porcinis roughly and put them, along with the other mushrooms, into the pot with the onions. Sprinkle a little bit of salt over it, raise heat a little bit, and cook, stirring, until mushrooms have released some of their liquid and begin to color just a bit. Add carrots, celery, and the tomato paste and cook a few minutes more, until the tomato paste is worked into the mixture. Add the porcini water plus about a gallon of cold water over the vegetables, throw in the kombu, thyme, bay leaf and a couple cranks of pepper, and raise the heat to high until the mixture boils. Lower the heat and simmer at a gentle bubble for the next hour. Add the parsley and cook for about a half hour more.

  3. Strain the liquid and discard (or compost!) the vegetable materials, pressing all the liquid out of them. You now have your stock. You may reduce further for a richer stock or season/salt it as you see fit.