Mineral-Rich Vegetable Broth

When a friend of mine from elementary school asked if anyone were willing to make her a batch of magical mineral broth, I thought to myself, "Now that sounds like a culinary adventure!" But I had no idea what she meant.

A quick internet search gave me this from Rebecca Katz, Magic Mineral Broth™; this one is a slight variation of the same recipe Magic Mineral Broth 2.0 ; and this one, from Joy the Baker, added chicken: here.

So, I decided to give it a go. And one of our mutual friends, who owns Serendipity Farms in Carmel Valley, gave me a bunch of veggies to  add to the pot. But, I didn't end up with the ingredients listed in the recipes, so I decided to wing it, using vegetables from Jamie as well as ones I had in the bin from my CSA.

One note: it's crucial that everything you use is organic! You don't want to spend all the time and money on vegetables to make a broth laden with pesticides. That would defeat the purpose of creating this healing elixir. Makes sense, right?

Ingredients makes 6 quarts

• 2 organic unpeeled yellow onions, quartered
• 3 organic turnips, quartered
• 3 organic beets, quartered
• 6 to 8 organic unpeeled carrots, cut into thirds
• 1 bunch green onions, cut into thirds
• 8 to 10 mini sweet peppers
• 1 large bunch fresh parsley
• 1 large bunch organic pea shoots
• 2 large bunches kale
• 12 large cloves garlic, cloves smashed
• 3" knob unpeeled ginger, cut in half, lengthwise
• 2 to 3 pieces of dried kombu
• 5 to 6 pieces of dried arame
• 12 black peppercorns
• 4 juniper berries
• 2 to 3 bay leaves
• 8 dried candy cap mushrooms
• 8 quarts cold, filtered water
• salt, to taste
• freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice, for serving

Procedure

Rinse all the vegetables well, including the seaweed. In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, combine all the vegetables. I had to split mine between two pots! Fill the pot with 8 quarts of water, or pots with 4 quarts of water if using two, cover, and bring to a boil.

Like fine wine, this broth gets better with age. A longer simmer will increase the broth’s flavor and nutrient density. So, I did a 24-hour broth.

 Decrease the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 12 hours. Uncover the vegetables and simmer, this time uncovered, for another 12 hours. As the broth simmers uncovered, some of the liquid will evaporate. Pour in more water if the level looks too low. The broth should begin to take on a rich, deep color.

Strain the broth through a mesh sieve and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing. Once the broth was cooled, I poured it into sterile jars.

To serve, heat the broth and add salt and lemon juice to taste. Or use this mineral-rich broth as the base of a tasty soup.