Veggie Queen’s 5-minute Vegetable Stock – Reader Recipes

The famed Jill Nussinow, better known as “The Veggie Queen“, is an avid reader of this website and recipes! She is ahead of the curve on reducing and reusing so it is no surprise how she can make a stock out parts of veggies that most of us would thoughtlessly throw away (I eat parsley stems but I’ve got to save those carrot ends, next time!) Her video recipe will change the way you cook, and have you saving tasty nuggets of flavor in your freezer for your next stock.

Look below, at the bottom of this page, for a special discount from the Veggie Queen for readers of Hip Pressure Cooking!

In her own words…

If you’ve never made stock before, you’ll be surprised at the rich flavor, which adds body to any soup or stew. Giving up canned or boxed stock is easy when you can make your own so quickly. When you’re cooking with fresh vegetables, save the scraps, ends and pieces and use them to make great stock. Season it any way that you like.

It’s great to have homemade stock. When I double the recipe, I freeze half in zippered bags, freezer containers or ice cube trays. The stock cubes are great when you just need a couple of tablespoons for a recipe.

I prefer not to salt my stock, adding salt to taste when using it in cooking. Do remember to do this, as unsalted stock is bland compared to canned stock. Use stock anywhere that you would use canned or boxed broth.

Veggie Queen’s 5-minute Vegetable Stock
Makes 8 to 12 cups which is 2 to 3 quarts, depending upon the size of your cooker.

1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 cups leek leaves
3-4 garlic cloves (optional)
3 carrots, cut into chunks
3 ribs (stalks) celery, cut into pieces
2 bay leaves (true bay not California bay)
A few peppercorns or up to 1 teaspoon
2 sprigs thyme or savory, or other herbs of your choosing (beware of using rosemary as it can be overpowering)
10 to 12 cups pure water, depending upon the size of your cooker.
Put all the ingredients in the pressure cooker. Lock the lid in place. Bring to high pressure over high heat. Lower the heat to maintain high pressure. When five minutes is up, turn off the heat and let the pressure come down naturally.

Remove the lid, tilting it away from you.

Allow the stock to cool slightly. Then pour the stock through a strainer into containers (not directly into zippered bags). When you get to the vegetable matter, press it against the strainer to extract all the liquid and flavor. Cool and refrigerate for a few days, or keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Variation (see video):
When I am cooking, I save vegetable scraps such as the tops of leeks, ends of carrots,, stems of mushrooms, odd pieces of celery and more, in a plastic container or bag in my refrigerator. If I have enough to make stock at the end of the week, I do. If not, I label the bag and put it in the freezer. When I go to make stock, I use 4 to 6 cups of these assorted vegetable scraps to make stock instead of using fresh vegetables. To this, I add the bay leaves, peppercorns and other herb sprigs and follow the standard recipe for making stock above. You can use the vegetable scraps even if they are frozen, as they will defrost quickly in the pressure cooker.

Recipe Credit, Jill Nussinow The Veggie Queen

Special offer for my hip readers (through February 14th)…
Jill Nussinow has her own 75 minute DVD, Pressure Cooking: A Fresh Look – Delicious Dishes in Minutes, demonstrating 14 recipes from breakfast through dessert with a 16-page recipe booklet complete directions and cooking charts.

To show my readers a little love, she is offering you $5 off the purchase of her video ’til the end of Valentine’s Day, February 14th. You can get your hot little pressure cooking hands on it for just $19.95 instead of the full price of $24.95.

She only ships to U.S. and Canadian addresses and the offer is only good until midnight 2/14/2011. To receive the discount you must purchase it through her website, note in the comment field in PayPal, or via email to her, that you came from Hip Pressure Cooking and $5 will be credited back to your account!

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