Recipe: Brown Vegetable Stock and Roasted Vegetable Stock

Since it's prime time in the veggie garden I thought I'd send these two vegetable stock recipes along. I haven't tried them yet but both recipes create a dark colored stock that will make a pleasing (and hopefully tasty) soup. The first recipe is from a web site at http://www.fatfree.com/.

Brown vegetable stock

Assemble a bunch of vegetables and trimmings. I use carrots, celery,
bell peppers, garlic, onions. Chop into big chunks. Don't be neat,
nobody will see this. Add about 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the pan.
Roast in the oven until everything is dark brown. (about 300 - 350 degrees)
Transfer to top of stove, changing pans if you have to. Cover vegetables
with water, and use some water to disolve brown solids in roasting pan.
Cook until the vegetables are really really soft. I usually try and mash
them a little also. Strain out the vegetables. Continue cooking the stock
until it is very dark. Vegetable stock is much more delicate than meat stock,
so it needs more reducing. IMHO. When it looks like a really good French
onion soup, it's done. Refrigerate and use as needed.

The second recipe is from Williams-Sonoma Healthy Cooking cookbook.

Roasted Vegetable Stock

7 large carrots, unpeeled, cut into chunks
3 yellow onions, unpeeled, quartered
8 celery stalks, cut into chunks
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms with stems intact, brushed clean and quartered
1 large baking potato, unpeeled, cut into chunks
2 cups plus 4 1/2 quart water
4-6 fresh thyme or parsley sprigs, or a mixture of the two
1/4 tsp whole peppercorns, crushed
1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Spread the carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms and potatoes in the pan. Roast for 45 min to 1 1/2 hour, stirring once or twice. The longer you roast the stronger the stock.

Remove from the oven and transfer the vegetables to a large stockpot. Add the 2 cups of water to the roasting pan, then stir and scrape the bottom with a spatula to remove any browned bits. Add to the stockpot along with the remaining water, thyme and/or parsley, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any scum from the surface. Reduce heat to low, cover partially and simmer for 2 hours. Strain the stock through a sieve or colander into a large bowl. Discard the solids. Let the stock cool, then store in the refrigerator up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.