You’ll be so thankful to have mushroom broth in your freezer. So easy to make, it adds an incredible depth of flavor to a variety of dishes.

This doubles or triples easily! You can also make a quick version to use the night of your cook. Just throw everything in the pot before you do anything else, bring to a boil, then turn to low and let simmer until the recipe calls for the broth.

INGREDIENTS

2 packages of dried mushrooms, a variety 

2 boxes or bags of fresh mushrooms: crimini are perfect but a mixture is excellent as well

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 stalk celery and leaves, roughly chopped

1 head of garlic, unpeeled, sliced in half horizontally

a handful of cherry tomatoes (or a couple of T of tomato paste)

a few sprigs thyme

2 bay leaves, crushed in your fist

a few black peppercorns

8 cups water

DIRECTIONS

Quickly rinse the dried mushrooms under cold water to remove most of the grit.

Throw everything in a large pot and bring to a boil. Then turn down to low and let simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. 

Strain your stock. While a fine mesh strainer will work, if you have cheesecloth, use it to line the strainer, as the dried mushrooms still will have a little grit. 

You can use the broth immediately, keep it in the fridge for a week or freeze for at least 6 months.