Chef notes
For a long time, I'd just toss all my veggie scraps into the compost. I figured that was definitely preferable to sending them to the landfill, but then I started developing a vegan pho recipe for my website and found out just how easy it is to make homemade broths using the scraps I would normally just toss out. Now I get three uses out of my veggies: eating the good parts, saving the scraps to make tasty broth, and composting the scraps after cooking the broth. I call that a win-win-win!
Storage tip: Store in the fridge in glass jars with tight-fitting lids for up to 14 days. This broth freezes very well for up to 3 months; freeze in glass food storage containers (remember to leave 1 inch of headspace at the top of each), or freeze into cubes, then transfer to a silicone storage bag and store in the freezer.
Separate the scraps into three categories for three different types of broth flavors:
1. Traditional: carrot peels, yellow and white onions (peels, trimmed roots and tops, leftover pieces), celery stalks.
2. Asian: mushrooms/mushroom stems; green, yellow, and white onions (peels, trimmed roots and tops, leftover pieces); celery; garlic; green cabbage; leek; ginger.
3. Red: beets (peels and trimmings), red cabbage, red onion (peels, trimmed roots and tops, leftover pieces), red chard.
Ingredients
- 6-8 cups preferred veggies
- 1 large yellow onion, skin-on, halved
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1½ teaspoons olive oil (optional)
Preparation
1.Put the vegetable scraps in a large stockpot and add water to cover. Add the onion, garlic, salt, bay leaf and olive oil (if using).
2.Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 1 hour.
3.Remove from the heat and let cool completely, then stir to mix well.
4.Stack a fine-mesh sieve over a widemouthed funnel and set them on top of a 1-quart glass jar.
5.Strain the broth directly into the jar (you'll need three or four jars to hold all the broth); compost the solids. Let cool completely before storing.
Excerpted from "Fridge Love: Organize Your Refrigerator for a Healthier, Happier Life ― with 100 Recipes" © 2021 by K4 Media Group. Photography © 2021 by Lauren Volo. Reproduced by permission of Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
