Gordon Ramsay’s vegetable stock is a light, clear stock of onions, carrots, leek, celery and a whole head of garlic, simmered for only 20 minutes and then finished off the heat with dry white wine and a bundle of fresh herbs. Give it about 50 minutes, most of that on its own, and you’ll have about 6 cups.
The clever part happens after you turn the burner off. The wine and the herbs go into the hot pot and stay there the whole time it cools, so the thyme, basil, tarragon, cilantro and parsley never boil at all. In his Secrets book, Gordon sums up the restaurant cousin of this stock in four words, “Infusion is the secret”, and that’s the idea here too.
It’s vegetarian, and vegan as well if your wine is, which makes it the stock to keep in the freezer for soups you’re cooking for friends who skip meat. If you’ve got the time, leave it in the fridge overnight before you strain it, as the book suggests. What you pour off in the morning is pale gold and smells of sweet carrot, wine and tarragon.
Gordon Ramsay’s Vegetable Stock
Course: BasicsCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy6
15
minutes35
40
kcalCarrots, onions, leek and garlic simmered briefly, then steeped with white wine and soft herbs as the pot cools. Yield: about 6 cups (1.5 liters).
Ingredients
- For the stock:
3 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1 leek, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, trimmed and roughly chopped
6 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
1 teaspoon white peppercorns
1 bay leaf
about 8 cups (2 liters) cold water
a few sprigs each of thyme, basil, tarragon, cilantro and parsley, tied together
a generous ¾ cup (200 ml) dry white wine
sea salt and black pepper
Directions
- Simmer: Put the onions, leek, celery, carrots, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaf into a large stockpot, 6 quarts or bigger, and pour in enough cold water to cover them, about 8 cups. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and cook at a gentle simmer for 20 minutes.
- Infuse: Take the pot off the heat and add the herb bundle, the wine and a little salt and pepper. Give it a stir.
- Cool: Leave the stock to cool with the vegetables and herbs still in it. If you have time, cover it and chill it overnight.
- Strain: Pour it through a fine sieve into a bowl and throw away the vegetables and herbs.
- Store: Keep it in the fridge, or freeze it in smaller portions.
Notes
- Coriander in the British edition is cilantro. If you're missing one of the soft herbs, I'd still make it, as long as the thyme, parsley and tarragon are there.
- Season it only lightly, since the salt gets stronger when you reduce the stock for a sauce.
- Don't leave the pot out for more than 2 hours. Once it stops steaming, move it to the fridge to finish infusing, or split it into shallow containers so it cools faster.
- Without a fine sieve, line a colander with a damp cheesecloth or a thin, clean dish towel, which is what his stock rules suggest.
FAQs
How is it different from his vegetable nage?
Only a little, since the nage is the restaurant version of the same stock. His nage, in both A Chef for All Seasons and Secrets, adds a lemon, pink peppercorns and 4 star anise, and simmers it for 10 minutes instead of 20.
The nage then infuses in the fridge for a good 24 hours before it’s strained. Secrets calls it “the stock we use for our vegetarian dishes and light vegetable soups”, and his potato and leek soup from A Chef for All Seasons lists it as the other choice to light chicken stock.
Can I make it without the wine?
Yes, and I’d leave it out if you’re cooking for children or anyone who avoids alcohol. The wine goes in after the heat is off, so the stock itself never boils it away.
Just use the same amount of extra water instead. A squeeze of lemon juice at the end brings back a little of the sharpness, which is my own swap, borrowed from the lemon in his nage.
What shouldn’t go in vegetable stock?
Strong or starchy vegetables, in my own view. Cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts make it taste sulfurous, potatoes cloud it, and beets turn the whole pot pink.
Gordon has his own warning about a stock that looks similar. His Secrets court bouillon, a lemony liquid for poaching fish, lobster and crab, should never be reused for soups and sauces “as it is too acidic.”
What can I use it for?
Any of his soups that call for chicken or vegetable stock. His broccoli soup with Stilton and pears in Cooking for Friends takes 3 cups and points to the same chapter as this recipe.
His white onion soup comes from Great British Pub Food, the same book as this stock. With this stock in place of the chicken stock and a vegetarian cheddar, the whole bowl is meat-free.
Can I freeze it?
Yes, for up to 3 months, and the book gives it 5 days in the fridge, though I’d use it within 4. Gordon’s own advice, on the same page as his nage, is to freeze stock in 200 ml and 500 ml blocks, roughly a scant cup and 2 cups.
Label them before they go in, because “they can all look the same once frozen!” Thaw a block overnight in the fridge, then heat it until it’s boiling hard before you use it.
Zaytouna Studio Team is the kitchen team behind Chef Ramsay Recipes. We cook Gordon Ramsay’s recipes from his cookbooks and videos in a home kitchen and write them up for yours, with US and metric measurements.