How to substitute chicken broth in a vegetarian soup?

Question

I'm making minestrone soup (for the first time) and, on reading the recipe, it calls for chicken broth. Normally this is no problem, but my vegetarian brother is visiting this weekend and I was going to make enough to share.

1. I'm assuming that chicken broth is non-vegetarian. I've asked him if he's willing to eat it, but for the time being I'm assuming it's verboten.
2. Not having the broth will obviously change the flavor. (I've never had minestrone before, so I wouldn't have any basis for comparison.) What should I replace it with for best results? Plain water, something with more body (red wine, which the recipe also calls for), or something a little more fun or exotic?

Answer 1

Your question seems to have two parts:

1. With what do I replace chicken stock to make the dish vegetarian and
2. How can I add some zing to the dish for added interest?

To answer 1, I'd make a hearty vegetable stock from scratch. Recipies abound. Alternatively you could rely on a bought stock but I find that these can be overpowering and of course you have less control over the flavour.

To answer 2, consider adding a dollop of pistou to each bowl of soup when serving. Freshly made pistou is easy and adds interest and flavour. See, e.g. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pistou_soup_67332.

Answer 2

There are plenty of "non chicken" broths out there that are vegan/vegetarian. For example: http://www.imaginefoods.com/content/organic-no-chicken-broth

Otherwise vegetable broth in general is very simple to find. I don't think you have to worry much about a vegetarian "missing" the taste of chicken or finding it lacking if you use veggie broth. I haven't eaten meat in 6 years and I don't remember what it tastes like, so I'm not going to be offended if veggie broth doesn't taste much the same as chcken stock, for example.

Answer 3

Chicken broth is not vegetarian. Or if it is (soy?), you don't want to use it.

The best way to make minestrone without chicken or beef broth -- and in my opinion, it's even better -- is simply long simmering. A proper minestrone should take between 50 and 90 minutes to cook.

The second flavoring ingredient is a parmesan (parmigiano) cheese rind. The rind is the hard, outer part of dry, hard cheeses, and does not melt, even with long simmering. But it does add a bit of umami and fat to the soup, which enhances it. Parmesan is the best for this, but if you happen to have a cheese rind for dry jack, pecorino romano, gruyere, or other very hard cheeses, you can use one instead. A piece about 1 inch by 3 inches is good for a large pot of soup.

So, your basic formula is:

1. Heat water.
2. add vegetables and aromatics (and cooked beans, if using).
3. Add cheese rind
4. Simmer for 1 hour
5. take out the cheese rind (and bay leaf, if using)
6. serve.

For more detail on this, CooksIllustrated published a recipe several years ago which is available (for a fee) on their website. You can probably also find it with some searching.

Answer 4

I've been very happy with the vegetable stock from Heidi Swanson's book "Supernatural Cooking". I regularly substitute this for chicken broth when I run out.

• 2 onions, cut into eighths
• 2 shallots, quartered
• 1 garlic clove smashed
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• a few sprigs of thyme
• 2 quarts of water

Heat some olive oil in a pan. Add the veggies and thyme, sauté for 5 minutes or so until they pick up some color and soften. Add water and a good pinch of salt. Simmer for 30-60 minutes.