Roasted Vegetable Stock

blucoat's Note:

This recipe from "Gourmet Magazine (Nov. 2004) makes a truly excellent vegetable stock with a rich, deep, and complex flavour. It's a very forgiving recipe and you can adjust it depending on what you have on hand. It also makes a great base for Roasted Vegetable Gravy. I'd recommend doubling or tripling the recipe and then freezing the leftovers.

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 3.5 cups

• ¾ lb cremini mushroom , halved
• ½ lb shallot , left unpeeled, then quartered (6 small or 4 medium)
• ½ lb carrot , cut into 1-inch pieces (3 medium)
• 1 red bell pepper , cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves , coarsely chopped
• 4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs (including long stems)
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 turkish bay leaves or ½ california bay leaf
• ½ cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 quart water
• ¾ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Toss together mushrooms, shallots, carrots, bell pepper, garlic, parsley and thyme sprigs, and oil in a flameproof roasting pan. Roast, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden, 35 to 40 minutes.
3. Transfer vegetables with a slotted spoon to a 4-quart saucepan. Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add wine and deglaze pan by boiling over moderate heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to saucepan and add bay leaf, tomatoes, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Pour stock through a large fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids.