I use a lot of mushrooms in my daily cooking, so I keep the stem trimmings in a container in the refrigerator. At the end of the week, I make stock, sometimes vegetable, sometimes mushroom. You can add some other vegetable trimmings to make this, but nothing with a strong flavor, and not too much. You don’t want to overpower the mushroom flavor. This is great with any type of dried mushrooms, and I use the most flavorful ones for the fresh. Baby Bella and portabella, are both good options, and readily available.

2 tsp. mild oil such as canola or corn

10-12 ounces of fresh mushrooms of choice, diced

Any stem trimmings from other mushrooms

1 small onion, chopped

1 ounce dried mushrooms of choice

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried

8 cups of water

2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce

In the bottom of a large pot, sauté the fresh mushrooms and onion in the oil until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about a half hour, then set aside until cool. This will enhance the flavor, so don’t skip this step.

Once cool, strain, and place in freezer containers, or use fresh. You can also clarify this to make mushroom consommé.

     Use in soups, stews, sauces, and, of course, as the ladling broth in mushroom risotto! See recipe here.

© Copyright 2018 – or current year, Dorothy Grover-Read