Winter garden goodness in a jar

This week I preserved some of my winter garden to enjoy the rest of the year… based on the ‘souper’ recipe found in this river cottage preserves book.Basically, it’s a whizzed up jar of good hearty vegetables sure to brighten up almost any dish!  This is a great way to preserve excess vegetables and herbs, just use what you have on hand, you could use most vegetables in the mix successfully.

Homemade Vegetable Stock:

• 2 leeks, sliced and well-washed
• 1 large or 2 small celeraic bulbs, peeled and chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1- 2 parsnips
• 5 medium garlic cloves
• Big bunch of flat-leaf parsley, loosely chopped
• Smaller bunch of cilantro/coriander, loosely chopped
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Small Bunch of Thyme
• Sprig of Rosemary
• 250g salt

Using your trusty food processor whizz everything up to form a thick paste, then add the salt.  Store in jars (mine made about 3) in the fridge (or freezer if you think its going to take a few months to get through).  I added a thin layer of oil to the top to preserve the color. Remember that this is very concentrate (not to mention salty) so add to dishes  a small amount at a time, or by diluting in water approx 1 teaspoon per cup of water.

This week we’ve enjoyed it in risotto, stirfry and chicken pie – Yum!