Vegan Bone Broth
In a book that is brimming with tantalizing baked goods — cookies and breads and bakes that best capitalize on the freshest, highest quality, sustainably harvested heritage grains you can get — the recipe that really leaped out at me was the one for a “vegan bone broth.” The book is The Miller’s Daughter, by Emma Zimmerman, and the secret ingredient in the broth is raw whole oat groats! Those are the oats in their whole-grain form, before they’ve been rolled or cracked or cut, as they are for making porridge. And the method couldn’t be simpler — toast a generous handful of the whole oats and add them along with the rest of the ingredients in your stock or broth. I’ve been riffing on it for a few months now, and I think this method may have changed my broth game for good.
Emma Zimmerman’s Vegan Bone Broth
The genius of adding a generous dose of whole, hardy oats, which are rich with natural oils, to a pot of broth is that it gives broth backbone, for lack of a better word, which can be challenging to achieve otherwise. Here I’ve combined Emma Zimmerman’s method with one I picked up from Deborah Madison years ago, of quickly steam-sautéing the vegetables before adding the water, which I think awakens the flavors (or at the very least creates a more aromatic experience). Sip this on its own, with plenty of fresh cracked pepper, or use it as a building block for soups, stews, and anywhere else you might need stock. I also urge you to lean in to using whatever vegetable pairings you prefer in your stocks and broth, as I have below, and definitely make use of the scraps you’ve got on hand.
Adapted from The Miller’s Daughter by Emma Zimmerman
Makes about 2 quarts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup whole oat groats
Trimmings from 1 large or 2 small leeks (dark green ends, root ends, anything else you don’t use)
4 medium or 2 large carrots, cut into chunks
3 long celery stalks, cut into chunks
A handful of mushroom stems
5 or 6 woody asparagus end trimmings
2 or 3 big garlic cloves
5 black peppercorns
Salt, to taste
Place a stockpot over medium heat and when warm, add the olive oil and stir in the oats. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant, then add all the remaining ingredients. Stir to coat, then cover and allow the vegetables to steam for a few minutes, until vibrantly colored. Then add the water, raise the heat to bring it to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer and allow the broth to cook for 60 to 90 minutes, until the flavors intensify. Season generously with salt — I start adding it about halfway through the cooking and then continue adding pinches for the remainder of the cooking time, until fully flavorful.
Strain out the solids then serve hot. Once cooled, divide between airtight jars and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.