Comforting Winter Broth Recipe
This recipe is courtesy of Leslie McEachern’s marvelous cookbook The Angelica Home Kitchen: Recipes and Rabble Rousing from an Organic Vegan Restaurant. Angelica’s, an organic vegan restaurant in the East Village of NYC changed plant based cuisine in NYC and was a hub, a gathering place and bit of respite in the hustle and bustle of life in the city for close to 40 years before it closed. Leslie has generously shared this comforting broth recipe (you can find more wonderful recipes in her book!). As my daughter would say, “in the olden days” it was common to have a bit of boullion before your evening meal. Here is one you can savor.
Kombu Vegetable Bouillon
This deeply comforting broth is served on its own before dinner to help calm the soul and stimulate the appetite. Sipping a cup of kombu bouillon is a beautiful segue from the hustle and bustle of your busy day – a sure signal it’s time to relax, sit down and enjoy a meal. As with other broths, it can double as a base for sauces.
1 1/2 cups peeled chopped onions
1 large carrot, chopped into 1/2 inch thick rounds
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup, peeled chopped parsnips
2 cloves garlic
2 slices fresh ginger, about the size of a quarter
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 leaves fresh sage
1 (3 inch piece) dried kombu
8 cups water
1 tspn tamari or salt to taste
1. Combine all of the ingredients with 8-cups of water in a 4-quart pot
2. Adjust the flame as low as possible, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
3. Strain the cooked broth into a clean container, when cooled down.
Suggestion: The vegetables can be pureed and added to a soup, but discard the sprig of thyme and the kombu.
Recipe reprinted with permission from ©The Angelica Kitchen: Recipes and Rabble Rousings from an Organic Vegan Restaurant, by Leslie McEachern