Make Your Veggie Broth, and Eat It Too

Today I have the most wonderful smell in my house. 

Carrots and garlic,
    tomatoes and thyme,
    all dancing together
    to make something fine!

(like my little attempt at kitchen poetry?)

I used to just leave vegetable broth out of recipes for the sake of time (and in my thinking, sanity). Instead, I would use plain water. I didn't know what I was missing until I finally worked up the courage to try to make some from-scratch vegetable broth.

It is so worth it. And it actually doesn't take as much work as I thought it would!

I do sometimes opt for a low-sodium vegetable bouillon cube (found at the Dekalb Farmer's Market) in some dishes, or when I'm in a huge hurry, but with the Lentil Bolognese recipe (below), the ingredients for vegetable broth are already on your counter. This makes a great opportunity to go for the real thing, and make this dish extra delicious.

Ingredients for Homemade Veggie Broth:

Carrot ends
Celery chunks (can be bits of stem, leaves and root)
Onion ends and skins
Tomato ends
Some salt, and a bit of the herbs you will be using in the dish

Because I usually just cook for myself, I often don't have enough scraps for making a pint or two of veggie broth. So, I keep collecting my scraps in a plastic bag in my freezer, and then use them all when I make a dish that calls for vegetable broth. The three main vegetables that you need for veggie broth are carrots, onions, and celery. Other veggies can be added in, but the majority should be the Big 3. 

Use your Homemade Veggie Broth to make the following recipe from BBC's Eat Well for Less.

Puy Lentil Bolognese 

This sauce is great over pasta or with mashed potatoes

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 stems celery, chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tsp dried thyme
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
500 g/1 lb 2 oz Puy lentils (or any brownish-green lentils), rinsed and drained
1 x 400g tin tomatoes (or about 3-4 diced tomatoes)
2.5 pints Homemade Veggie Broth
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste
Pasta or mashed potatoes to top the sauce or add as a side

Heat a large pot until hot. Add the olive oil, onions, carrots and celery and cook them over medium heat for 5 minutes. You can put a lid on to keep the moisture in so that they just soften.

Add the thyme and garlic and cook for another minute, then add the tomato puree and turn the heat up. Stir well so that the tomato puree goes all through the vegetables and then add the lentils and mix once more.

Stir in the tomatoes (tinned or fresh diced) and the vegetable stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Then, turn the heat down and simmer until the lentils are tender and the sauce has slightly reduced. Add the balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Enjoy!

This is what was on my table tonight, and it was delicious and super warming on such a cold night. Let me know in the comments if you have other vegan recipes that you enjoy.

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