One of the things that vegetable stocks usually lack in comparison to meat broths and stocks is the natural gelatin that’s extracted from meat and bones; consequently vegetable stocks often lack the depth of flavor and rich body of meat stocks (even though the calories are negligible). I fiddled around with various ingredients to try to come up with at least some of that flavor and body in a vegetable stock. Roasting some of the vegetables gave the stock the flavor I was looking for, but finding a substitute for that rich body eluded me, until one day a light bulb

flashed: okra. The uniquely gooey, gelatinous quality that made me hate okra as a child (I love it now) might just be the missing piece of the puzzle. And so it was. Using potatoes also helped.

This vegetable stock isn’t just for detoxification. Yes, it does take some chopping, but it makes quite a lot, and is good enough to make it worthwhile to keep some on hand in the freezer. Some of its many uses are as an ingredient in soups, sauces and stews as well as a substitution for water when cooking rice or beans for an added flavor boost.

VEGETABLE STOCK

2 large onions, preferably red – do not use super-sweet onions, such as Vidalia
4 carrots
2 T. melted butter or olive oil
2 c. chopped okra
1 c. dried mushrooms, such as shiitake
4 stalks celery
2 leek tops (the green parts) stems from 1 bunch of flat-leaf Italian parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme, or several sprigs fresh thyme
4 cloves garlic or to taste
2 bay leaves
2 cloves
1 T. peppercorns
1 lb. red boiling potatoes, cut into chunks

Preheat the oven to 450°. Quarter the onions and two of the carrots. Toss with just enough of the butter to barely coat them, put them in a roasting pan in a single layer and place in the oven. Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally until the vegetables are evenly and deeply browned. Put the onions and carrots into a deep pot. Deglaze the roasting pan with water, and add to the pot. Add the remaining ingredients except the potatoes and cover with 2 gallons of water. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered for 2 hours. Add the potatoes and continue to cook for another 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the stove and allow to come to room temperature. (You can speed this process by placing the pot in a sink of cold water.) Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve, pressing lightly on the vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible without pushing them through the strainer.

Makes about 1 ½ gallons This recipe is really a method rather than something that needs to be followed precisely. Use a combination of ingredients that are to your taste and that you have available, but be sure to include the okra and potatoes for maximum goodness.