I have been looking for a recipe to give vegetarian/ vegan stock more umami and this is it!!! I made this recipe twice and it’s delicious, very easy to do and meat eaters has no idea it’s a vegetarian stock.

I made several adjustments to this recipe and doubled it but the basic technique of caramelizing and building in umami is right on. 1. I had to increase my oven temperature to char my veggies to about 400 F 2. Don't add kombu until the last 30 minutes of simmering into the broth - make sure the broth is not boiling, then remove, dry and freeze to reuse in furikake or other dishes. I don't think kombu is supposed to be heated to high temperatures. 3. I don't think miso added much because so much its flavor was lost when baked and simmered for 2 hours. I will make it without miso next time since that can always be added to soup fresh. It's also a huge amount of miso since I was doubling, miso is expensive and precious. 4. I omitted peppercorns but added sliced leeks (instead of doubling onions), sun-dried tomatoes, parsnips, celeriac to the roasted veggies. I also added carrot greens, leek greens and celery leaves to the simmering broth. I replaced parsley with thyme. 5. I started with about 7 quarts of water and reduced for 1 hour in a large stockpot to yield about 5 quarts of very flavorful concentrated, deep brownish broth. Overall I'm happy with my yield and results. I wanted a fragrant, flavorful but ultimately a flexible broth base. I think there are some missteps here with the optimal and least wasteful use of miso and kombu so I deducted points, but oven roasting and then simmering is the way to go! Spending 3 hrs on making broth is a lot of work...but at least I got a decent yield for all the effort by doubling and its WAY superior to store bought.

Oops my bad - the reason I ended up with 2 cups of broth is cause i misread the recipe and used 4 CUPS instead of 4 QUARTS of water...however that said, I enjoyed the richness and density so much (imagine 1/4 the amount of water) that I’m making it again and I’m intentionally going to use half the water (2 quarts) and freeze the broth in ice cube trays - now it’s a concentrate and I can just plop a cube in a cup and add boiling water and have an amazing sipping broth or use as broth for recipes By adding water! Sorry-definitely worth making!

This broth tastes thick, rich, delicious and satisfying but I must say that once it reduces you end up with 2 cups of broth and even though it’s great, that’s a very little bit of broth for the amount of ingredients and time that goes into this! Would love to double, but the yield just doesn’t seem worth the effort and time! I did end up diluting the final broth just to make more and it is rich enough that you can do this..love it but not sure I’d make it again!

I made this just to have a nutritious, low cal broth to drink everyday during the winter. It’s absolutely phenomenal and it has the depth of a meat broth. Thank you for this!

This is a delicious veg broth. After making this, theres no turning back to store bought stock. I love the depth of flavor and the picker it hits you with after a sip. Anytime I want to make soup, I have to have this on hand. Thanks Andy!

Going to make this for a vegan crowd. It sounds fabulous! Just FYI- Kombu is kelp, not seaweed. That is why they are not calling for Nori.

I’m sipping a cup of this broth while I write this and it’s divine! I used dried porcini mushrooms instead because I’m just not a fan of shiitake and it’s so rich and flavourful. Will definitely make again!

I'm making this right now (I'm at the simmering stage) and I've never smelled anything so delicious. I can't wait to eat it!

Lovely deep flavours. Wholesome and just super delicious! Thanks Andy!

I just made my second batch of this and have recommended it to my friends so it will most definitely become a staple. I always like to tweak most recipes but honestly would not change a single thing on this! Perfect. Love your work, Andy!

This is going to become a weekly staple. I did end up using red miso rather than white because that was what I had in my fridge and I hadn't made it to the asian market yet. Although I'm nearly out and I might have to make another batch.