This broth is a veritable veggie-palooza that you can use as a base for many soups to be eaten from a bowl or sipped as a tea. It’s also a nutrient-dense, -cleansing elixir that’s delicious on its own.
Makes about 6 quarts | Prep time 10 minutes | Cook time 2 to 3 hours
Ingredients
- 6 unpeeled carrots, cut into thirds
- 2 unpeeled yellow onions, quartered
- 1 leek, white and green parts, cut into thirds
- 1 bunch celery, including the heart, cut into thirds
- 4 unpeeled red potatoes, quartered
- 2 unpeeled Japanese or regular (white) sweet potatoes, quartered
- 1 unpeeled garnet sweet potato, quartered
- 5 unpeeled cloves garlic, halved
- 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley
- 1 8-inch strip kombu seaweed
- 12 black peppercorns
- 4 whole allspice or juniper berries
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 quarts cold, filtered water, plus more if needed
- 1 tsp. sea salt, plus more if needed
Directions
- Rinse the vegetables well, including the kombu.
- In a 12-quart or larger stockpot, combine the vegetables and spices. Add the water, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for at least two hours, or until you can taste the full richness of the vegetables. As the broth simmers, some of the water will evaporate; add more if the vegetables begin to surface.
- Strain the broth through a large, coarse-mesh sieve into a heat-resistant container, and discard the solids. Stir in the salt, adding more to taste if desired. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing. Store in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to six months.
Tip:
One of the more common sea vegetables, kombu is loaded with calcium, iron, and iodine. It also gives the broth the savory, rich flavor that’s known as umami.
Reprinted with permission from Clean Soups, copyright by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson, 2016. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Photograph © 2016 Eva Kolenko.
