Homemade Vegetable Bouillon

Thursdays are my "Cooking with Friends" day. So today both Vanessa and Season came over and we made another batch of our vegetable bouillon from Rouxbe.com along with a batch of vegetable bouillon using a new recipe from Cook's Illustrated magazine (America's Test Kitchen.) Surprisingly, both recipes were both based on the same recipe so we wanted to see if there was a big difference between the two. I made the new recipe and Vanessa made the one we've made before. The new recipe was much simpler and faster. It had fewer ingredients, was less expensive to make, and they were quite similar in taste. So we've decided it will be our new bouillon recipe of choice :) It may not look like much, but it adds quite a bit of flavor to rice, potatoes, and soups.

Vegetable Broth Base

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped and washed thoroughly (2 1/2 cups or 5 oz)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (2/3 cup or 3 oz)
1/2 small celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (3/4 cup or 3 oz)
1/2 cup (1/2 oz) parsley leaves and thin stems
3 Tablespoons dried minced onions
2 Tablespoons kosher salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons tomato paste
3 Tablespoons soy sauce

For the best balance of flavors, measure the prepped vegetables by weight. Kosher salt aids in grinding the vegetables.

Process leeks, carrots, celery root, parsley, minced onions, and salt in food processor, scraping down sides of bowl frequently, until paste is as fine as possible, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomato paste and process for 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl every 20 seconds. Add soy sauce and continue to process 1 minute longer. Transfer mixture to airtight container and tap firmly on counter to remove air bubbles. Press small piece of parchment paper flush against surface of mixture and cover. Freeze for up to 6 months.

The broth base contains enough salt to keep it from freezing solid, making it easy to remove 1 tablespoon at a time. To make 1 cup of broth, stir 1 tablespoon of fresh or frozen broth base into 1 cup of boiling water. If particle-free broth is desired, let the broth steep for 5 minutes and then strain it through a fine-mesh strainer.

Makes 1 3/4 cups base; enough for 7 quarts broth

** I always double it since it isn't any more work :)