Equipment
Ingredients
Fresh Roast Base
- 500 g white button mushrooms, halved
- 500 g cremini mushrooms, halved
- 2 onions, quartered, skin on
- 1 garlic, head halved horizontally
- 30 g tomato paste
- 30 ml olive oil
Wild Infusion & Aromatics
- 30 g dried porcini mushrooms
- 3500 ml water, cold
- 15 ml tamari
- 5 g black peppercorns, whole
- 10 g fresh thyme, sprigs
- 20 g parsley stems
- 2 dried bay leaves
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 112 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbohydrates
- 17 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 4 g
- Sodium
- 130 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 1 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 0 mg
- Potassium
- 710 mg
- Calcium
- 107 mg
- Iron
- 4.6 mg
- Magnesium
- 39 mg
- Phosphorus
- 166 mg
- Zinc
- 1.7 mg
- Vitamin A
- 47 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 14 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.3 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.6 mg
- Vitamin K
- 44 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.2 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.14 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.62 mg
- Niacin
- 5.3 mg
- Folate
- 38 mcg
- Water
- 565 g
- Alcohol
- 0 g
- Caffeine
- 0 mg
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F. Thoroughly clean the fresh mushrooms.
In a large bowl, toss the white mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, onions, and halved garlic head with the olive oil and tomato paste until well coated. The tomato paste aids browning.
Spread the vegetable mixture evenly on a large baking sheet. Roast for 40-45 minutes until the mushrooms are deeply browned and caramelized. Do not stir too often; we want browning, not steaming.
Transfer the roasted vegetables into a large stockpot. Place the baking sheet on a burner (or use boiling water) to deglaze with a splash of the water, scraping up the fond (browned bits), and pour this liquid into the pot.
Add the remaining cold water, dried porcini mushrooms, tamari, peppercorns, thyme, parsley stems, and bay leaves to the pot.
Bring the liquid almost to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to low. Simmer gently uncovered for 1 hour. Do not let it boil vigorously, or the stock will become cloudy.
Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve. Press firmly on the solids with the back of a ladle to extract every drop of liquid—the mushrooms act like sponges holding the most flavorful juice.
Allow the stock to cool rapidly before transferring to storage containers.
Chef's Notes
- Never salt a stock during the cooking process. Salt content should be controlled in the final dish (soup, risotto, sauce) to prevent over-salting upon reduction.
- Dried porcini are expensive but necessary; they provide the 'wild' funk that cultivated white mushrooms lack.
- Using onion skins in the roast adds a beautiful amber hue to the final stock.
- This stock is a 1:1 replacement for beef stock in almost any recipe due to its high glutamate content.
Storage
Refrigerator: 5 days — Store in airtight jars.
Freezer: 3 months — Freeze in ice cube trays for flavor bombs or quart containers for soups.
Reheating: Bring to a simmer on the stove before using in recipes.
Troubleshooting
Stock tastes weak or watery
Cause: Not enough reduction or ingredients were not roasted enough
Fix: Simmer the strained stock for an additional 20-30 minutes to concentrate flavors
Prevention: Ensure mushrooms are deeply browned in step 3; reduce liquid volume further if needed
Stock is cloudy
Cause: Boiled too vigorously
Fix: Cosmetic only; affects clarity but not flavor. Can be clarified with egg whites (raft) if strictly necessary, but removes vegan status.
Prevention: Keep heat at a bare simmer (bubbles just breaking surface)
Cultural Context
While stocks are the foundation of classic French culinary tradition ('fonds de cuisine'), this mushroom-heavy variation leans into modern plant-based gastronomy. It utilizes the Japanese concept of 'umami' through dried fungi and soy products to replicate the mouthfeel traditionally provided by animal gelatin and collagen.
