Another Soup Tip

It is officially Fall, and with that comes soup season. As much as I can I try to make my own broth. If you have a roast chicken, or steak with bones, or anything else that has bones, this is the best time to do it.

Making a good broth is relatively easy, I find the more stuff you add the better. If you have been keeping slightly wilted vegetables in the freezer, this is a great time to bring them out. If not, look through your fridge and see what you have. I tend to use broccoli stalks, celery, carrots, onions and lots of garlic. Also any herbs you have, I prefer full branches of rosemary, thyme, basil whatever you have. And with your onion, try to use a yellow onion, include the skins as it will add colour to your broth.

Put all of the vegetables, herbs and bones in a large pot. Fill the pot with water, make sure everything is covered. Turn on your oven to the lowest temperature possible, about 50 degrees. Put the pot in the oven and leave it for as long as possible 6-10 hours. I prefer to do it over night.

Then the next day you want to strain your broth and throw away all of the solid matter. This may seem like a waste, but it will have no nutrients left, all the nutrients are in your broth. Now you can start to make your soup. If you don't want to make soup that day you can freeze it, if I have more than enough for one container of broth I will freeze some of it in ice cube trays. This way you have small portions of broth that you can add to gravy or stir fry or anything that needs it.