homemade boullion
That crazy looking concoction up there is homemade boullion. A brilliant, though seemingly obvious in retrospect, alternative to those odd, bland, dehydrated boullion cubes you can purchase at your local supermarket. I stumbled across this recipe at 101cookbooks, then adapted it to incorporate my favorite herbs and vegetables.
As it turns out, ground up vegetables and herbs plus a disturbing amount of salt makes a paste that keeps well in the freezer up to a couple of months without freezing solid. You can scoop out a little whenever you need it.
Say you have a shameful addiction to instant ramen. Well, ramen is made a little less shameful when you toss out that mysterious flavor packet and add a few teaspoons of fresh boullion in its place. Or, say you’re a vegetarian and your local supermarket doesn’t carry Nissin Oriental Instant Ramen Noodles-the only option sans beef extract. Make this boullion and you’ll never have to order a case of 24 from amazon.com again!
the recipe
Homemade Boullion
this has lasted at least 6 months in my freezer although I use it often!
- 300 grams 300 g carrot
- 200 grams 200 g celery
- 1-inch piece 30 g ginger
- 300 grams 300 g onion
- 1 bell pepper, yellow or red
- 2 cloves garlic
- 30 grams 30 g lemongrass, I used the ready-to-use stuff found in a plastic tube with the herbs in the produce section
- 60 grams 60 g cilantro
- 40 grams 40 g parsley
- 100 grams 100 g salt
- Prepare vegetables by washing and peeling as needed. Chop coarsely.
- Add carrots, celery and ginger to a large food processor, pulsing until finely chopped.
- Add onion, bell pepper and garlic; puree.
- Add remaining ingredients and process until you have a smooth paste. You may have to scrape down the sides and push the herbs into the mixture to get everything fully incorporated.
- Refrigerate up to a week or freeze up to a couple of months.
- Use about a teaspoon of boullion per cup of water, adjusting to taste.
each column is one step, working left to right — hover a cell for the full instruction
this has lasted at least 6 months in my freezer although I use it often!
- 300 grams 300 g carrot
- 200 grams 200 g celery
- 1-inch piece 30 g ginger
- 300 grams 300 g onion
- 1 bell pepper, yellow or red
- 2 cloves garlic
- 30 grams 30 g lemongrass, I used the ready-to-use stuff found in a plastic tube with the herbs in the produce section
- 60 grams 60 g cilantro
- 40 grams 40 g parsley
- 100 grams 100 g salt
Prepare vegetables by washing and peeling as needed. Chop coarsely.
Add carrots, celery and ginger to a large food processor, pulsing until finely chopped.
Add onion, bell pepper and garlic; puree.
Add remaining ingredients and process until you have a smooth paste. You may have to scrape down the sides and push the herbs into the mixture to get everything fully incorporated.
Refrigerate up to a week or freeze up to a couple of months.
Use about a teaspoon of boullion per cup of water, adjusting to taste.
— adapted from 101cookbooks.com