Basics: Recipe for Crimini Mushroom Stock with Celeriac and Leeks

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Brown mushroom stock does not a beautiful photo make, so you will not see one in this post.

Photos of the ingredients that went into making said stock? Yesiree.

Making mushroom stock takes very little effort and time and is probably as simple as stock gets.  But the results are far from ordinary.  Roasting deepens the flavors and brings out natural sweetness.
One could add carrots and garlic to the roasting pan, and I might in a future recipe, but this one I kept simple and clean.

Speaking of which:  Clean your mushrooms. This small brush is very handy for the job,

but a quick once-over with a paper towel will also do the trick.

 

Coarsely slice them; one-half inch is not too large.

Peel and chop the celeriac, otherwise known as celery root.
I used a sharp knife to peel this critter but a wide-blade vegetable peeler might work as well.

I save the light green parts of leeks for stocks like this. If you have them, use them now.

Add a chopped onion, a little sea salt, a little freshly cracked pepper, a little porcini powder and ...

roast them all together to a golden, caramely brown.

Hold on, you're not finished yet.  Scrape the roasted vegetables into a stockpot, cover with water, bring to just under a boil, lower the heat and simmer the stock for 1 hour, longer if you want it more concentrated.

After adjusting the seasonings to your own taste, strain the stock through several layers of cheesecloth into a large glass measuring cup or bowl.  Let it cool then store it in the fridge in air-tight containers or freeze in ice cube trays then pop them out into ziptop bags and put back in the freezer.

I use these whenever I want to add some depth to a vegetarian dish, such as risottos, soups (cream of mushroom, anyone?) and stews.

Oh, one more thing:  the ingredients measurements are approximate; the only error one could make would be on the side of paucity.

Christine's Basic Roasted Crimini Mushroom Stock with Celeriac and Leeks

(print recipe)

Ingredients:

2-pounds crimini mushrooms, cleaned, coarsely sliced

1 large celeriac, peeled and coarsely chopped

3 1-inch thick leeks, white and light green parts, washed, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon porcini powder (mine is local, made by Hasta be Pasta)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/3 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth

olive oil for the roasting pan

Preparation:

Heat oven to 375-degrees.

Drizzle about 2 teaspoons olive oil into a large roasting pan then add the prepared mushrooms, chopped celeriac, leeks and onions.

Sprinkle the porcini powder over the vegetables along with some sea salt and generous grindings of black pepper, then, using clean hands, toss everything together so all pieces are evenly coated.

Cover the pan loosely with foil, place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.

Lift the foil from the pan and check to see if there are mushroom juices running around the vegetables. If so, remove the foil entirely and continue roasting, shaking pan occasionally, until the contents are golden brown and the juices have evaporated.  If the mushrooms have not released their juices, cover the pan with foil and continue roasting for a few more minutes or until they do so then continue with the above instructions.

When the vegetables are done, remove them from the oven, check and adjust seasonings, then scrape them into a large stockpot and immediately deglaze the roasting pan with 1/3 cup white wine, or dry vermouth, scraping up any browned bits that may be sticking to the bottom. Pour this good stuff into the stockpot along with 5 cups of fresh, non-chlorinated water.

Bring the liquids to a low boil, then lower the heat, semi-cover the pot with a large lid, and allow to simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour - longer if you want more concentrated flavors.

When the stock has the flavor you desire, remove from the heat and allow to cool until you can safely strain the stock from the vegetables. And, please, save those veggies! They can be incorporated into risottos, omelettes, even my potato galette.

To store, cool completely then strain through several layers of cheesecloth into airtight containers, or freeze in ice cube trays as I have suggested above.

A Special Note from Christine Cooks:
I already had this recipe waiting in the wings (and there are a few more in draft stage), but I must tell you that merrily writing food posts is not high on my list at the moment.
My heart is heavy over the plight of the people in Japan and I have made donations to several trusted sites. If you would like to join me in making a donation to help the Japanese people in their time of need, please consider giving whatever you can afford by either clicking on the red strip at the top of this page - which will take you to the Portland-based Mercy Corps donation page -
or by making a donation through the Red Cross web site, earmarking it for the Japan Disaster Relief.  No donation is too small; a donation of $10 will make a big difference.  Please join me. Thank you.

Copyright © 2005-2011, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Basics: Roasted Rich and Robust Chicken Stock

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One of the things that has been missing from this blog from the very start are posts dedicated to the basics:  stocks and broths, salad dressings, sweet and savory sauces, gravies, the "how tos".  Sure, some of those things are embedded within a post about soups or stews, crab cakes, dinner salads, and desserts, but very few are the stars of their own page. So one of my goals this year is to remedy that omission.

Herewith is my first Basics:  A hearty, rich and robust chicken stock made by roasting chicken bones along with aromatics to a rich, golden, caramelized goodness, pan deglazed, then onto the stovetop to cook into a stock.  After that the reduction begins.  What you have at the end of the process is a deeply flavored dark stock to enhance soups, stews, braises, risottos, rice and pastas, sauces, or whatever floats your culinary boat.

I began this stock with the carcass (skin and cartilage included) from a previously roasted 5-pound chicken, but you can use backs and wings purchased from your butcher and begin the roasting with this recipe - no need to pre-roast.  I do suggest that you always save and freeze the bones, wingtips, etc from any bird that you cook so you always have some on hand to make a stock. 

The aromatics (onion, carrot, celery, garlic, spices) all get roasted at the same time with the chicken bones.

A touch of salt, a drizzle of olive oil and into the oven it all goes at 375-degrees for about an hour.  I tented the pan with foil for the first 25 minutes then let it go naked for the remainder of roasting time.

Instead of deglazing the roasting pan with wine at the end of the cooking time (which is what I normally do), about two-thirds of the way through I removed the pan from the oven, quartered a very ripe Meyer lemon (thanks Bill!) and drizzled the juice over the pan contents, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom with a spatula, dropping the spent lemon parts into the pan, and continued roasting until it was all done to a golden perfection.

Bones, veggies, lemon pieces, spices, browned bits and all went into a large stockpot along with bruised fresh bay leaves, sprigs of fresh thyme, a small hot red Padrón pepper from a plant that is struggling mightily in my greenhouse, some sea salt and 12 cups of fresh, cool water (preferrably non-chlorinated).

After simmering for an hour, the yield was 11 cups of delicious stock.  And really, you could stop right there and start making soup, but I wanted my stock to be richer, more concentrated and de-fatted, so I strained it through 2 layers of cheesecloth and put it in the fridge overnight to cool, allowing the fat to congeal on the surface.  The next day it was easy to skim the fat from the surface of each container.

Again using 2 layers of cheesecloth and a fine mesh strainer, I strained the stock back into a stockpot, brought it to just under a boil, lowered the heat to a simmer and let it reduce down to 6 cups - about 40 minutes total.  The flavors were fantastic, the stock the deep, rich brown that you see in the top photo.  Four cups of it are freezing in ice cube trays as I type this, the remaining 2 cups are in the freezer to be used as a soup base later in the week.  I think you're gonna like this.

Christine's Roasted Rich and Robust Chicken Stock

(Print recipe)

Ingredients:

Carcass of one 5-pound or two 2 1/2-pound chickens, cut into pieces, preferrably previously roasted

1 large sweet yellow or cippolini onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

10 or so cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

1/2 teaspoon each whole black peppercorns and whole allspice berries

1 Meyer lemon, washed, quartered, seeds removed

2 fresh bay leaves, bruised

4 long sprigs fresh thyme

1 small hot pepper, stem removed, jalapeno will do, I used Pimiento de Padrón, from my greenhouse

1 teaspoon fine kosher salt or sea salt

2 teaspoons olive oil, about

12 cups cool, fresh water

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees

Place the chicken parts, onions, carrots, celery, garlic cloves, peppercorns and allspice berries in a large roasting pan and drizzle with the olive oil.  Shake the pan to distribute the oil.

Tent the pan loosely with foil and put in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

Remove the foil and drizzle the pan contents with the juice of the Meyer lemon, dropping the lemon pieces into the pan.  Scrape the pan with a spatula to loosen the browned bits from the bottom and return pan to the oven for another 30 minutes or until the bones and vegetables are golden brown. Be sure to not let the garlic cloves burn. That would be a bad thing.

Scrape the contents of the roasting pan into a large stockpot and cover with 12 cups water.

Add the bay leaves, thyme sprigs, hot pepper and the salt and give it a stir.

Bring to just under a boil over medium-high heat.  If scum rises to the top, use a skimmer or fine mesh sieve to remove it then reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the stock to cook this way for 1 hour.  Check the heat periodically to maintain a simmer, not a boil.

Remove the stockpot from the heat and allow the stock to cool for 30 minutes.

Remove as much of the solids as you can with a slotted spoon then pour the stock through 2 layers of cheesecloth in a large sieve into glass containers.

Place the containers in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours or overnight so the fat can rise to the top and congeal.

Remove the stock from the fridge and skim any hard fat from the surface (your doggies and kitties will be waiting for this part; there's nothing like a little chicken fat to liven up a dish of kibble).

Using 2 layers of cheesecloth and a fine mesh strainer, strain the stock into a large stockpot over medium-high heat and bring to just under a boil.

Lower the heat to a simmer and reduce the stock to about 6 cups; about 30 minutes simmer time.

Allow the reduced stock to cool then strain it again, for the last time, through 2 layers of cheesecloth and a fine mesh strainer.  I know all that straining may seem like a lot, but I think you will be happier with a stock that doesn't end up with grit at the bottom.

When the stock has cooled, you can pour it into ice cube trays, freeze them hard then remove them from the trays into freezer-proof ziptop bags, label and date the bags, and put in the freezer.  Or, you can pour the stock into freezer-type storage containers in any volume you prefer and freeze.

The stock will keep well in the freezer for up to 6 months but, honestly, once you taste this you'll want to use it up sooner.  And that's good because you can always make more.

 Enjoy!

Copyright © 2005-2011, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Corn Cob Stock

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I know. It's just a corn cob. No kernels. Doesn't look like much. But I promise you if you make this stock your eyebrows will disappear into your hairline and you will be magically transported to a gentle place where soft breezes bring the tantalizing aromas of a corn field on a warm summer's day to your nostrils. Or something very close.

It's for this very reason that I save and freeze corn cobs. As should you. Not for too long though. Do it now while corn is in season and use them for stock by fall.

Delicate and slightly sweet, this stock can be used in so many ways, from chowders to soufflés, from risotto to ice cream. Yes, ice cream. But that will be for another post.

Fresh farmers market ingredients went into the making of this elixir with a Neukom Farms Walla Walla onion adding a sweet top note. Freshly picked thyme sprigs deepened the flavors and of course the corn cobs made it all positively, deliciously corny.

This is it. Like the corn cob above, it doesn't look like much but just wait 'til you taste it. One more thing - freshly picked corn is always best but the reason I have corn cobs in the freezer is because I've already used the kernels in other recipes. But I'm sure you knew that already...

Christine's Corn Cob Stock
Ingredients:
8 corn cobs (sweet white corn, please), kernels removed (see preparation below)
1 large Walla Walla onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 carrots, pared and coarsely chopped
6-8 fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
8 whole peppercorns
water to cover cobs, approx. 4 quarts
2 tablespoons (approx) kosher salt, or to taste

Preparation:
If you haven't already, cut the corn kernels from the cob like this: Place a cob upright in a deep bowl, large end resting on the bottom of the bowl. With a sharp knife, gently cut the kernels off by cutting straight down the cob, taking care to not cut too deeply as you will want to use the "milk" that is just beneath the kernels for other corny things in your repertoire.
Rotate the cob and continue to cut the kernels into the bowl. Repeat with the other cobs. The kernels will keep in a zip top bag in the fridge for about a day, so plan to use them, and the corn milk, right away (like in the corn chowder that's coming up.)
Place the cobs in a large stock pot with the chopped onions, carrots, thyme, bay and peppercorns. Cover with water, and bring to a gentle boil.
As soon as the water boils, lower the heat, add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt and simmer for about 40 minutes to extract all the flavors. This is a delicate stock and should not be simmered for a long period of time.
Carefully strain the stock into another large pot, add more salt, or not, to your taste and let it cool to room temperature.

Cook's Notes:
This recipe yielded 3 quarts and 2 cups of stock. When the stock had cooled, I poured it, almost to the top, into several large, clean yogurt containers, placed plastic wrap directly onto the liquid, then snapped on lids and put them in the freezer.
This stock will keep in the fridge, tightly covered, for several days. For fresh taste, plan to use the frozen stock within 4 months of making it.

To milk the corn cobs, run the back of a chef's knife up the cob from the large end up, rotating the cob to extract the milk all the way around. Save the milk separately from the corn kernels and use within a day or two.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Vegetable Curry Stock Plus A Curried Pumpkin And Leek Risotto

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Right now, as I'm typing this, I'm munching away on this particular plate of risotto because, as I said to Tanna earlier this morning as I was answering comments, visions of hot, creamy, veggie-filled risotto have been dancing through my dreams lately. And although it's finally a sunny day, as opposed to all the rain we've been getting, it's darned cold out with an icy north wind blasting; a perfect day for a stick-to-your-ribs (or in my case, hips, but, hey, a girl's gotta stay warm somehow!), hearty risotto.

The fact that I posted a risotto recipe yesterday doesn't bother me in the least, nor should it you. That dish was made earlier this month before the farmers market closed for the winter. Sometimes things just work out this way.

What I really want to tell you is how today's risotto came about. You see, the other day I made a veggie curry poaching liquid for catfish that was soooo delicious (both the catfish and the poaching liquid) that I had to save the stock for another day, me being on a definite curry kick just now and, really, could you, should you toss such a healthful, tasty elixir down the drain? I thought not. I remember saying to Mr CC that this would be fantastic in a risotto, to which he murmured, mmmmmm. Or something to that effect.

So in order to make this risotto, you first have to poach some catfish. Or at the very least, make this incredible stock.

Vegetable Curry Stock
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
2 small yellow onions
3 celery ribs
3 small carrots
1 small parsnip
1 long stem fresh tarragon
4 stems fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 stems fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fine Kosher salt
6-8 whole black peppercorns
2 2-inch strips Meyer lemon peel
2 heaping teaspoons yellow curry powder
olive oil spray for the pan
1/3 cup dry vermouth
1 1/2 quarts water
Preparation:

Place the water in a stock pot over medium high heat.

Peel and coarsely chop the vegetables and sauté them until lightly browned in a heavy skillet that has been sprayed with a film of olive oil spray.

Deglaze the pan with the vermouth, scraping up any browned bits, then add the pan contents to the stock pot along with the herbs, salt, peppercorns, curry and lemon peel.

Bring the contents of the stock pot to just under a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

Strain the liquid, adjusting the seasonings if necessary.

Should you go on to poach some fish in this, which I highly recommend, be sure to strain the used stock through a fine-mesh strainer when all is said and done. Then keep it tightly covered in the coldest part of the fridge and use it up within, say, 3 days. If you can't use it within that time, put it in the freezer.

Now on to the risotto, which is really the star of this post.

Curried Pumpkin and Leek Risotto

Here is where I usually either claim as my own the recipe that follows, or give credit to whomever inspired me. Well, risotto has been made for so long and in so many ways that I can't really lay any claim to it, nor do I wish to. So I'll just say that the ingredients that went into the risotto were inspired by what I thought would go well with the vegetable curry stock, which is my own, with grateful thanks to Italian cooks everywhere who make risotto, in all its iterations, without batting an eyelash.

Ingredients:
6 cups vegetable curry stock
1 1/2 cups leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
1 small onion. peeled, cut cross-wise then into thins half-moons
1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
1 heaping cup cooked pumpkin (mine was a small French type called "rouge" that I found at the farmers market. You can see it in the photo above.)
1 1/3 cups arborio rice (I used a locally produced arborio from Lundberg Farms)
1 tablespoon olive oil for the pan, used in small increments as needed

Preparation:

Put the curry stock in a saucepan and heat on medium high until it begins to steam.

Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and keep warm.

Place a teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Sauté the onions, leeks and garlic until softened and golden brown (that's the way I like it, anyway), adding a bit more oil to the pan to prevent sticking.

Add the sage and the arborio rice and stir until the rice is coated with the oil, then continue sautéeing until the rice has toasted just a little bit.

Pour in the Meyer lemon juice and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Ladle in 1 cup of the curry stock and stir until almost all the liquid has been absorbed.

Continue to add the stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently, until each addition has been absorbed and the rice is creamy and just a little bit firm to the bite. I used 5 cups of the stock.

Now add the pumpkin and stir until most of the lumps are incorporated.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow the risotto to rest for 5 minutes. You can add parmesan cheese now if you wish, but I liked it without.

That's it. It took all of 40 minutes to prepare the risotto, from cutting the veggies to dishing a heap of it onto a plate and eating it hungrily. It was creamy and savory with curry spice but the sweet acidity of the Meyer lemon came through beautifully and wasn't overpowered by the curry as I feared it might be. I think I just may be getting good at this risotto thing.

As for the top photo with what looks to be some kind of meat in the risotto? That was my doing: After staring at all the starchy carbs I was about to ingest, I opened a can of local albacore, heated it up and added some of it to my plate. If you strive to eat low-carb, at least go for balance when you fall off the wagon. Buon appetito!

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved