Chef Poppy’s Roasted Vegetable Stock
Yield: about 6 cups
Time: 1 hour 30 m
If you don’t have all the ingredients listed below, it’s fine to substitute keeping in mind that the stock will taste like whatever vegetables you use. The longer you can simmer the stock the more intense the flavor. I simmered our stock for about 40 minutes. We used it to thin the Butternut Squash Soup, which has loads of flavor so it wasn’t necessary to simmer longer.
This delicious stock has a depth of flavor that comes from roasting the vegetables. Use whatever vegetables you have on hand, but avoid anything too strongly flavored, such as broccoli or cabbage as they will overwhelm the stock. Remember to cut the vegetables in relatively small pieces so there is more surface for the flavors to be extracted.
olive oil
4 carrots, cut into1/4″ slices
2 celery ribs, cut into 1/4″ slices
1 large onion, cut into 1/2″ pieces
2 large leeks, white part thinly sliced, plus inner greens
4 cloves garlic
2 t. salt
1/2 t. whole peppercorns
chopped parsley
thyme
Step 1
Preheat over to 425 degrees. Place carrots, celery, onion, leek, garlic, and whatever else you have decided to roast in a large roasting pan. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and toss. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, stirring every now and then until vegetables are browned.
Step 2
Transfer vegetables fo a stock pot, as well as the remaining ingredients and water. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, and simmer for 40 minutes.
Step 3
Strain, pressing out as much liquid as possible, and discard the solids.
Vegetable stock can be used immediately. Some can be saved in the freezer. Ice cube trays are good for this. Souper Cubes has trays with larger openings which are great to store for stock.
Chef Poppy’s Butternut Squash Soup
There are a number of ways to make butternut squash soup. You can cut the squash in half and roast it on a sheet pan, then scoop out the “meat.” We cut the squash after removing the skin, (not a task for the weak), and cut it into chunks, roasting it with olive oil, salt and pepper. Try it either way.
olive oil
2- 2lb butternut squash
(sweet potato, optional)*
olive oil
chopped parsley
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, Cut the skin off the squash. Cut squash into 2″ pieces and place in roasting pan or on a sheet pan. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for about 30 minutes or until squash is soft. Let cool slightly.
*notice there is a sweet potato in the ingredients. I once had a catering job where we were serving Butternut Squash Soup for the first course and I couldn’t find enough squash, so I improvised by adding roasted sweet potatoes to the squash. The result was fantastic. The lesson here is improvise, be creative!
Step 2
Puree with some vegetable stock. We used my Cuisinart but you can also use an immersion blender. Add as much of the stock as you like, depending on the your desired thickness. Chop parsley and add to soup. Serve.
Caramelized Mushroom and Onion Galette
A galette is a flat round of pastry, whether you make it yourself or buy ready-made at the store. I picked up my dough at New Leaf. There are pastry rounds that are refrigerated and those that are frozen. I bought both and realized I would use the refrigerated one because the frozen one would take 3 hours to thaw. A galette is cooked on a sheet pan and is rather “free-form.” No need for a tart pan for a galette. This recipe is for a savory galette, but you can also make any fruit into a galette as well.
Galette/Pie Dough
olive oil
2 medium sized onions
1 T butter
a few sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 pound mushrooms (we used shiitake, which have a mild but distinct flavor) Use whatever looks good at the market
salt and pepper
1/2 c. gruyere cheese
There are a number of steps to this recipe:
Caramelize the onions: In a frying plan heated to medium, pour in the olive oil and evenly sliced onions. After about 10 minutes, turn the onions down to simmer and add a chunk of butter. Keep onions at a simmer for a long time, until the onions begin to turn golden.
Roast the mushrooms: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the mushrooms in a roasting pan or sheet pan with a very little amount of olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Roast for about 1/2 hour. Check after 20 minutes. I roasted the mushrooms because roasting takes some the liquid out of the mushrooms.
Lay out the dough and assemble: We took the dough and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Place onions on the dough first, in the middle, leaving about 2 inches around the perimeter of the dough. Grate the gruyere and add to the onions. Add the mushrooms.
Bake at 350 Degrees for 30 – 45 minutes.
Enjoy!