You are here

Magic Mineral Broth

Description

"This is my Rosetta stone of soup, a broth that can be transformed to meet myriad nutritional needs, serving as everything from a delicious sipping tea to the powerful base for more hearty soups and stews," says Rebecca Katz, whose Cancer-Fighting Kitchen workshop in September 2011 featured her recipes in the Bastyr Dining Commons, including Carrot-Ginger Soup with Magic Mineral Broth as its base. "So no matter what a person's appetite, it can provide a tremendous nutritional boost. This rejuvenating liquid, chock-full of magnesium, potassium, and sodium, allows the body to refresh and restore itself. I think of it as a tonic, designed to keep you in tip-top shape."

Ingredients

6  
unpeeled carrots, cut into thirds
2  
unpeeled yellow onions, cut into chunks
1  
leek, white and green parts, cut into thirds
1 bunch
celery, including the heart, cut into thirds
4  
unpeeled red potatoes, quartered
2  
unpeeled Japanese or regular sweet potatoes, quartered
1  
unpeeled garnet yam, quartered
5 clove
garlic, unpeeled and halved
1⁄2 bunch
fresh flat-leaf parsley
8 inch
strip of kombu
12  
black peppercorns
4  
whole allspice or juniper berries
2  
bay leaves
8 quart
cold, unfiltered water
1 tsp
sea salt

Instructions

Rinse all of the vegetables well, including the kombu. In a 12-quart or larger stockpot, combine the carrots, onions, leek, celery, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yam, garlic, parsley, kombu, peppercorns, allspice berries and bay leaves. Fill the pot with the water to 2 inches below the rim, cover, and bring to a boil.

Remove the lid, decrease the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for at least 2 hours. As the broth simmers, some of the water will evaporate; add more if the vegetables begin to peek out. Simmer until the full richness of the vegetables can be tasted.

Strain the broth through a large, coarse-mesh sieve (remember to use a heat-resistant container underneath), then add salt to taste.

Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing.

Notes

"Like fine wine, this broth gets better with age," Katz writes on her website, "The longer the simmer time, the better tasting and more nutrient dense the broth will be. You can also cut the recipe in half and make it in a slow cooker. Ingredient note: Kombu might sound like an exotic name for a jazz ensemble, but it's really a long, dark brown to black seaweed that is dried and folded into sheets. It keeps indefinitely if stored in a cool, dry place Kombu is available in the Asian section of many grocery stores, or you can order it online."

A stylized plate and silverware.

Summary

Yield
quarts
SourceReprinted with permission from Rebecca Katz (The Cancer-Fighting Cookbook and One Bite at a Time)
Prep time
30 minutes
Cooking time
2 hours
Total time
2 1/2 hours