Root Vegetable Cawl (VG) from Home Made
“Cawl is usually made using meat – lamb, beef or ham hock – and vegetables, cooked in a deep, meaty stock. When his son turned vegetarian, David created a stock from roasted root vegetables to get the same depth of flavour. Pooch and I played around a bit, infused dried mushrooms in the liquid that would form the stock, and stirred in a good dollop of Marmite. Don’t be put off if you’re a Marmite hater: it gives the stock, which thanks to the roast veg is quite sweet, a more savoury note, but doesn’t, I promise, taste of Marmite.” Kate Humble, author of Home Made
For the vegetable stock
2 large carrots, cut into chunks
2 onions, peeled and cut into wedges
1 leek, roughly sliced
400g (14oz) celeriac, peeled and cut into chunks
2 celery sticks, roughly cut
1 head of garlic, halved
Olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 thyme sprigs
1 small rosemary sprig
2.5 litres (4½ pints) water
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the cawl
2.25 litres (4 pints) vegetable stock
2 carrots, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 large potato, cut into small cubes
1 small swede, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced into 1cm (½ inch) thick rounds
1 bay leaf
4 thyme sprigs
1 tablespoon Marmite
½ small bunch of parsley, chopped
Search for carrots, onions, leeks, celeriac and other ingredients on Wylde Market.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6. Put the stock vegetables and garlic onto a large roasting tray (or divide between 2 trays if necessary, so they aren’t too crowded). Drizzle with olive oil and season. Toss to coat, then roast in the oven for 30–40 minutes, stirring now and again, until golden and caramelized on the edges.
Tip the vegetables into a large saucepan, add the herbs and measured water, bring to the boil, then simmer rapidly for 45 minutes, squashing and mixing the vegetables (a potato masher is great for this) as much as possible so that they release all their flavour into the water.
Pour through a fine sieve into a large bowl, pushing as much of the solids through the sieve as possible. Discard the contents of the sieve. Your stock is now ready to use.
To make the cawl, heat the stock in a large saucepan. Add all the cawl ingredients, except for the parsley, and simmer with a pinch of salt until the vegetables are just cooked through. This will take about 20 minutes, or a little longer, depending on how large your chunks are.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt if necessary. Remove the bay leaf and thyme. Stir through the parsley and serve in bowls.
