Potato Peel Broth and Garlic Broth, those fragrant liquids with the amusing names, are such good, basic stocks for soups and sauces that I couldn’t leave them out. Both recipes are repeated here essentially as they appeared in the original Vegetarian Epicure, with a few slight alterations that I developed in my repeated use of these broths and that strike me as improvements.
The potato peel broth is a bit richer in flavor with the addition of some herbs and oil, which I had formerly added only to the sweeter garlic broth. And monosodium glutomate, about which we know too little but enough to scare us, has been deleted. To make garlic broth, it is only necessary to add a full head of garlic, split into cloves, to the potato peel broth recipe.
So, back by popular demand, here is:
potato peel broth
Each method yields about 6 cups of broth.
• peels from 6 to 7 large, healthy brown-skinned potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 2 carrots
• 1 medium-sized stalk celery
• 2 qts. water
• 1 large sprig parsley
• 1½ Tbs. olive or mild vegetable oil
• ½ to 1 bay leaf
• ¼ tsp. dried whole thyme
• pinch of sage
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 clove garlic (optional)
• dash of Tabasco (optional)
• dash of lemon juice (optional)
1. First, scrub the potatoes very thoroughly and cut away any blemishes, then peel them, cutting off strips at least¼ inch thick. Reserve the peeled potatoes for another use. Peel the onion and quarter it. Wash the carrots and celery and slice them.
2. Combine all the ingredients but the Tabasco and the lemon juice in a large pot and simmer for about 1½ hours, or until all the vegetables are very soft. If too much water evaporates during the cooking, add enough to keep all the vegetables covered with liquid. When the broth is done, there should be about 6 cups of it, but this may vary slightly. The most important thing is to taste it, smell it, and look at it. If it is light brown, fragrant, and delicious, it’s ready; if it seems weak, simmer it a bit longer and reduce it; if it seems too strong, add a bit of water.
3. For a clear broth, just strain out all the vegetables through a sieve and correct the seasoning if necessary. For a soup with the consistency of a thin purée, first fish out the celery, garlic, and bay leaf, then press everything through a fine sieve until only a rather dry pulp is left.
4. Finally, for giving both potato peel broth and garlic broth that final touch of seasoning, I’ve found that a delightful flavor is brought out by the addition of a few drops of Tabasco or a few drops of lemon juice—or both.
Garlic broth
1. Proceed exactly as for potato peel broth; only add a full, large head of garlic rather than just one puny clove, and be sure to use olive oil. Break the head of garlic up into separate cloves and peel them if you wish, though they can also be used unpeeled—a method that many people feel yields richer flavor. Simmer the broth gently for a long time—1½ to 2 hours—and then strain everything out through a sieve for a fine, clear, and delicate broth.
