Vegetable Stock Bouillon Cubes

Preparing the vegetable stock bouillon cubes at home has always been something I like so much as I am a fan of homemade. Making the vegetable stock bouillon cubes at home is easy, cheap and above all it is healthy since there are no thickeners, preservatives, dyes or similar stuff.

Some tips to follow for the preparation of this recipe:

– vegetables should be weighed from clean as the salt to be added must be 1/3 of the total weight of the vegetables, neither more nor less, this to allow the right preservation to the stock and the right degree of salinity. My vegetables weighed 750 gr clean (approx. 27 oz) and I added 250 gr of salt. (9 oz)

– you should not add water because the vegetables already release liquid during cooking

1 zucchini

1 carrot

200 gr. (7 oz.) pumpkin or butter squash

1 onion

200 gr. (7 oz.) celery

5 small tomatoes

1 clove garlic

Parsley

Basil

2 tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil

250 gr. salt

Wash the vegetables, dry them, and cut them into small pieces.

Weigh them to adjust with the salt to be added: the salt must be 1/3 of the weight of the vegetables.

My vegetables weighed 750 gr clean, and I added 250 gr of salt.

Put 2 tablespoons of oil on the bottom of a pot, then add the vegetables, cover, and cook for about ten minutes.

Now add the salt, stir, then cover with the lid and let the vegetables cook for about 1 hour, over medium-low heat

When the vegetables will be cooked, blend everything with the immersion blender.

Cook the mixture for another 20 minutes.

The mixture will have to shrink until it comes off the edges of the pot.

Pour the mixture on a baking sheet covered with silver paper and give it a rectangular shape.

Cut everything into cubes and once cooled, put in the freezer to firm up.

Now detach the vegetable stock cubes gently, be careful because they are not hard, and place them in a plastic container that you can store in the freezer, taking one cube at a time whenever it will be necessary

The consistency of the cubes is not very hard and will always remain a bit grainy thanks to the presence of salt that will inhibit complete freezing. That’s why probably it’s better to wrap them in a bit of parchment paper, bee paper or plastic like candies or use ice cube trays.