For general information about making a good stock, see
Stock Basics.
What follows is a very classic all purpose vegetable stock. It can be manipulated in many different ways depending on need or desire. Sometimes you may omit an ingredient when you don't have it. This is perfectly acceptable. Sometimes you will omit ingedients by choice. When cooking fish, I generally omit the carrots as they will discolor the stock. Sometimes, I may add a fennel bulb instead of the celery. This gives the stock a slight liquorice taste that goes well with tomato dishes.
Occasionally, when I really want one flavor to shine, I will make a vegetable stock from only one or two ingredients. For instance, I particularly like halibut poached in a stock made solely from celery.
Makes 2 quarts
3
carrots2
stalks celery1
large leek, white part only2
large onions6
cloves garlic3
tbsp oil2
bay leaves10
peppercorns8-10
springs of herbs such as thyme and parsley- Salt
Chop the carrots, celery, leek and onion into pieces about 1 inch in size. Crush the garlic with the back of a knife so it splits. Add the chopped and crushed vegetables to a large pot a little cooking oil. Place over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables are slightly browned in color.
Add 2 quarts of water and the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce to the barest of simmers for one hour. If the level of liquid drops, add more water to bring it back to about 2 quarts.
Remove from heat and strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Discard vegetables and allow the the stock to cool before refrigerating. Use within a week.
If your stock has become too salty, add a few peeled potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. The potatoes will absorb some of the salt and can then be removed. The more potatoes you add, the more salt will be removed.