We never bought ready-made stock cubes at home: my mother ingeniously produced this tasty and versatile homemade light vegetable stock cube without salt and no cooking to freeze and always have on hand.
It’s a simple recipe with only three types of vegetables – carrots, onions, and celery – and extra virgin olive oil.
Once tried, for taste and practicality, you won’t be able to do without it anymore.
The light vegetable stock cube and the quick light vegetable broth prepared with its use provide digestible and light bases that allow cooking and seasoning while limiting the use of oil in cooking.
You will find it as an optional ingredient in many blog recipes.
100% vegetable.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking methods: No cooking
Ingredients
It’s a simple recipe with only three types of vegetables and extra virgin olive oil.
- 4 carrots
- 2 onions
- 1 celery (stalks)
- 1.06 cups extra virgin olive oil (approximately, raw)
Suggested Tools
Making stock cubes at home has never been so simple!
To prepare it, you need a food processor or a blender/mixer with sturdy blades.
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Ice Tray
Preparation
Clean and wash the vegetables thoroughly:
– peel the carrots and remove the ends;
– peel the onions and remove the ends;
– remove the leaves and ends from the celery.
Pour the oil into the food processor container.
Add the chopped vegetables and blend until you get a homogeneous mixture.If the mixture is too dry, add more oil, little by little.
The color of the mixture varies based on the amount of each vegetable: more orange, more yellow, more green.
Your homemade light vegetable stock cube without salt and no cooking is ready to freeze.
Adding oil to the preparation of the vegetable stock cube allows for its preservation.
The amount of oil per cube is minimal.
To prevent it from frying, use it together with water or other liquids.In the case of brothy first courses, to avoid glycemic peaks, it is advisable to cook the pasta separately and then rinse it and add it to the brothy seasoning prepared separately; in this way, the starch released by the pasta in the cooking water is eliminated.
Cook the pasta separately from the broth.
Drain and rinse it well under running water to remove the released starch.
Add it to the broth prepared separately.In this way, you reduce the glycemic load of the dish and make it more manageable and light, without giving up the comfort of the broth pasta.
The homemade light vegetable stock cube and the homemade tomato sauce without sugar or oil in cooking are my two indispensable bases for healthy and quick cooking.
Storage, Tips, and Variations
Store the light vegetable stock cube in the freezer by freezing it immediately after preparation:
– pour the mixture into ice cube molds;
or:
– pour the mixture into aluminum trays lined with parchment paper, let it freeze then cut into cubes;
transfer and store in freezer bags.
It keeps for up to 3 months in the freezer.
One vegetable stock cube is enough to flavor 400 ml-600 ml of water, depending on the desired intensity of taste.
Dissolve a vegetable stock cube in hot or cold water to obtain a quick and light vegetable broth.
Add a vegetable stock cube to flavor recipes based on vegetables, legumes, meat, and fish and as a base for a light sauté without adding extra oil during cooking.
Essential in the preparation of risottos, soups, and stews.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
About the Carrot
Cooking modifies the glycemic index of the carrot: raw food GI 30, cooked food GI 85, but the amount used in the preparation is small and distributed among the portions, so generally, the impact on blood sugar is negligible.
If you prefer, you can use a smaller amount compared to onion and celery or omit it altogether.Can I use other vegetables?
You can experiment with other vegetables, but the basic recipe with carrots, onions, and celery is the most balanced and versatile.
Information on Packaged Vegetable Stock
The percentage of vegetables contained is really minimal; it has a high salt content and also contains fats and, in some cases, additives like glutamate.
To be avoided or limited, especially in case of hyperglycemia.
