Len's News, Notes, and Stuff

Make Your Own Stock, Get Raves From Friends + Family

I’ve gotten compliments from my friends and family for the food that I’ve made, but I received the most enthusiastic raves for my cooking these past two nights. The secret is no secret at all: I made some seriously kick-ass vegetable stock from scratch and used it in my dishes.

Good food really does come down to the basics: use good, fresh ingredients, and do everything you can to (a) bring out the best in them and (b) not mess things up. Really, all we’re doing when we make good food is coax the best out of the ingredients and combine them in ways that show them to best effect.

Good stock is the foundation for many dishes, and it’s really a big part of why fancy restaurant food (usually) tastes much nicer than regular home-cooked fare. Sure, you can buy stock in the supermarket, but I guarantee you it won’t taste quite as good as stock you make yourself from good ingredients. I know that from personal experience, and I’m sure your experience would be the same.

At the end of the weekend, I made a big batch of vegetable stock. It was nothing fancy at all – just put in some fresh leeks, carrots, celery, and onion and then let it simmer for a while.  I was in a bit of a rush and actually forgot to add in the flat-leaf parsley and thyme! Still, with fresh vegetables doing their thing, the stock at the end of the easy process came out pretty nicely.  The first dish I made was actually the reason why I made the stock in the first place: a simple risotto with prosciutto and zucchini.

The risotto was basic and simple to make – it took some time and attention at the stove, yes, but the steps were easy. I used some high-quality olive oil, sauteed some diced onion, threw in the arborio rice grains and sweat them a bit. I added some white wine and cooked it off, added in the prosciutto and zuccini and cooked them for a few minutes. Then it was just half an hour of adding in the still-warm vegetable stock a ladle or two at a time, stirring and letting the risotto incorporate it.  At the very end, I stirred in a small pile of grated parmigiano reggiano and tadaa, that was it! I had ended up stirring in three quarters of the stock into the risotto and still had about a quarter left over.

When we ate the risotto, it was rich, deep and flavorful. Everyone at the table agreed that it was a fantastically tasty experience. There was a bit of risotto left over, so someone got to eat it for lunch the next day. I got a call at work about it, actually. “It’s too damn tasty! I want to eat more, but if I keep eating good food like this I’m going to get seriously fat!”

The remainder of the stock went into a bouillabaisse with tomatoes, onion, haddock, some shrimp, and a good amount of flat-leaf parsley and cilantro. We served the bouillabaisse with some parboiled rice, and wow, more rave reviews!

I had originally made the vegetable stock to make the risotto in order to use up some arborio rice I happened to have on-hand. I made the bouillabaisse in order to use up the leftover vegetable stock. What I ended up with was two great meals, 2 extra lunches and great raves from 4 different guests.

Making stock can be a bit of a hassle when one makes beef stock, chicken stock or seafood stock. The hassle comes from the cleanup process more than anything else, I think. Vegetable stock, on the other hand, is easy and the cleanup is quick and painless. The results, however, are absolutely amazing.

I highly recommend that you make your own stock, because I think you’re going to really enjoy your meals made with the stock and I’m pretty sure you’re going to get raves from your friends & family!