Equipment
Ingredients
Vegetables for Roasting
- 500 g carrots, scrubbed and roughly chopped
- 400 g yellow onions, quartered
- 300 g turnips, scrubbed and roughly chopped
- 1 garlic, head halved crosswise
- 30 ml olive oil, for drizzling
Aromatics and Liquid
- 2500 ml water, cold
- 5 fresh thyme, sprigs
- 2 bay leaves, dried
- 5 g black peppercorns, whole
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 100 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- 16 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 7 g
- Sodium
- 79 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Potassium
- 381 mg
- Calcium
- 66 mg
- Iron
- 0.7 mg
- Magnesium
- 23 mg
- Phosphorus
- 57 mg
- Zinc
- 0.4 mg
- Vitamin A
- 524 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 18 mg
- Vitamin E
- 1.0 mg
- Vitamin K
- 12 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.3 mg
- Thiamin
- 0.10 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.07 mg
- Niacin
- 0.9 mg
- Folate
- 28 mcg
- Water
- 450 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F.
Place the chopped carrots, quartered onions, turnips, and halved garlic head onto a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat evenly.
Roast the vegetables in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, turning them once halfway through, until they are tender and deeply browned on the edges.
Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large stockpot. Pour a splash of the measured water onto the hot baking sheet to deglaze it, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, and pour this liquid into the stockpot.
Add the remaining cold water, fresh thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and black peppercorns to the stockpot. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, immediately reduce the heat to low, cover the pot partially with a lid, and allow to simmer gently for 90 minutes.
Remove the stockpot from the heat. Carefully pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a large, clean heat-proof container. Press gently on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible, then discard or compost the spent vegetables.
Allow the strained broth to cool to room temperature before covering and transferring to the refrigerator or freezer.
Chef's Notes
- Leaving the dry outer skins on the yellow onions is the secret to achieving a beautiful, rich golden color in your finished broth.
- Do not salt the broth at this stage. By leaving it unsalted, you have full control over the seasoning when you use it to make soups, stews, or risotto later, preventing the final dish from becoming overly salty when liquids reduce.
- The roasting phase is critical and should not be rushed. The Maillard reaction occurring on the surface of the root vegetables is what provides the deep umami flavor often missing in quick vegetable stocks.
- Save clean vegetable scraps like carrot peels, celery ends, and herb stems in a container in your freezer. You can add them to the roasting pan or simmering pot to extract even more flavor and reduce food waste.
Storage
Refrigerator: 1 week — Store in an airtight container or large mason jar.
Freezer: 6 months — Freeze in pre-measured portions or ice cube trays for easy use.
Reheating: Bring to a gentle simmer in a saucepan before using.
Troubleshooting
Broth tastes bitter
Cause: Vegetables were burnt rather than caramelized during the roasting phase
Fix: Add a small pinch of sugar or a splash of apple cider vinegar to balance the bitterness
Prevention: Monitor the vegetables closely during the final 15 minutes of roasting and turn them for even cooking
Broth is cloudy rather than clear
Cause: The broth boiled too vigorously or the vegetables were pressed too hard during straining
Fix: Cannot be fixed, but the broth is still completely fine to use and will taste identical
Prevention: Ensure the broth stays at a very gentle simmer and avoid pressing the solids aggressively when straining
Cultural Context
Vegetable broths have served as the foundational building block for rustic home cooking across the Americas since early pioneer days. By roasting the root vegetables first, this modern American technique replicates the deep umami flavor profile traditionally provided by meat bones, offering a rich and satisfying plant-based alternative that supports sustainable eating habits.
