Roasted Veggie Stock

This does not have to be a chore, quite the reverse – think of it as therapy!

What follows will give you 2 litres of stock. Arm yourself with “pour and store” bags, suitable for liquids.

450g/1lb celery

700g/1½lbs onions

450g/1lb carrots

450g/1lb tomatoes

450g/1lb green peppers (bell peppers)

225g/8oz parsnips

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves of roasted garlic

1 bay leaf

6 whole black peppercorns

1 bunch fresh, flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

2.5litres/4pints/8fl oz water

Pre-heat oven 200fan/220c/Gas 7.

Remove the leaves and the inner parts of the celery and set aside.

Toss the onions, carrots, tomatoes, green peppers and parsnips in the oil. Place them in a large roasting dish and onto a baking tray, into the oven and roast for approximately one hour, turn them every 20 minutes – when the onions have begun to caramelise and the veggies brown.

Place the veggies, plus the set aside celery leaves and inner bits, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, parsley and water into a large stockpot. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered until the liquid is reduced by half.

Pour the stock through a sieve, catching the stock in a large bowl or pot.

Freeze in boxes with lids, in amounts that suit you best.

If you're going to use an “off the shelf” stock, I'd use Knorr stock pots – a great product. Knorr have a new “ready to use” organic stock which comes in 300ml packs. If you wanted to be persuaded to make your own here's a comparison - the 300ml packs are on offer at the moment for £1.49 – original price £2.20. That's a lot of dosh!