HarveyMushman I’ve had a few attempts at a good veg stock. I think their success often depends on what you’re planning to use it for. I tend to use chicken stock when I need to add body to a broth as opposed to using an alternative liquid like water or something with more flavour like wine. If you wanted body in your stock, perhaps adding something starchy like pearl barley would work?
For a good multipurpose stock where I don’t want to use chicken as the base or can’t be bothered with the effort of making a meat stock from scratch, I have to say I actually make a kombu dashi. It’s significantly easier to make than a meat stock or European vegetable stock, is vegan, and the kombu adds a wonderful umami note that can be hard to achieve with a French-style stock unless you roast the vegetables beforehand. The caveat here is it needs an overnight soak in the fridge for best results, and obviously uses some potentially tricky to find Japanese ingredients, so worth planning ahead!
This is the recipe I use:
10g kombu
10g dried shiitake mushrooms
1 litre water
Put everything in a pot, leave it overnight in the fridge to soak. If you’re making it to use later that day, leave it for at least a couple of hours at room temperature.
Being everything to the boil. Just before boiling, remove the kombu and shiitake mushrooms (remember to eat the mushrooms later!) and leave the stock to cool.
