recipe: red vegetarian broth

I made a batch of my red broth this morning to get ready for the soup-a-thon that I have ahead of me the next few days. I have a soup swap to go to and although I haven’t decided what I’ll be making, I know that at the very least one of the soups I take will use this broth.

The second this smell hits the house, I crave tortilla soup or posole and maybe someday I’ll make batches that are big enough to yield leftovers for freezing. Maybe.

Red Vegetarian Broth
2 large carrots
1/2 onion
2 stalks of celery
6-8 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 tablespoons tomato paste
12 cups water
a few sprigs of oregano and cilantro
a few lettuce leaves
salt and pepper to taste

1. Scrub and roughly chop all your vegetables. (I give the garlic cloves a good smash, but leave the peels on.)
2. Heat oil in a large stock pot. Saute veggies with oregano, peppercorns and coriander seeds until onion starts to soften.
3. Add tomato paste and cook for a few more minutes.
4. Add water, fresh oregano, cilantro, lettuce leaves and simmer for about 30 minutes.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.

Broths are normally used to amp up the flavor of soups and/or stews, but I love this red broth all on its own. A squeeze of lime and a short stack of corn tortillas make for a great lunch or late night snack. It’s also stands in perfectly for chicken-noodle soup on sick days.

Compliments fideos and ancho-lentil stew nicely and is essential in my posole recipe.