Vegetable stock

Here’s how to have a supply on hand. It can be stored in the fridge for up to three days or frozen in batches for future use.

Ingredients

• 1 tbs olive oil
• ½ onion, diced
• ½ leek, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 small bulb fennel, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, left whole and gently crushed
• about 20 black peppercorns
• 8-10 button mushrooms
• 1 stick celery, diced
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 3-4 fresh parsley stalks, roughly torn

Method

Put the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, leek, carrot and fennel and sweat for 2-3 minutes, then add enough cold water to cover the vegetables and turn up the heat to high. Add the garlic, peppercorns, mushrooms, celery, tomatoes and parsley and stir together. Bring to the boil and boil gently for 15 minutes. Pour the stock through a sieve. The liquid stock is ready to be used.