For Vegetable Stock
1 bunch carrots
2 large leeks
1 bunch celery
1 large onion
2 large shallots
5 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch parsley
6 sprigs thyme
2 bay leafs
4 whole cloves
8-10 whole peppercorns
8 cups cold water
For Soup
1 large butternut squash
1 onion
5 sprigs thyme
4 cups vegetable stock (divided)
Oil
whole nutmeg
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon cardimon
Salt and pepper
Vegetable stock is far and away the easiest stock to make and customize. The trick is not to over cook it. 40 minutes isn't enough time for the vegetables to give all their flavors and combine, but 70 minutes will cook the vegetables too much and you will lose that bright fresh flavor. Shoot for 50 minutes to an hour. Other than that, go crazy.
Carrots, celery, and onion are a wonderful base for any veg stock, but you can add leeks, shallots, beet tops, random trimmings, really anything.
As for seasoning, parsley, thyme, bay leafs, and peppercorns are the classics, but you can augment that with any number of spices and herbs. Rosemary and cloves usually end up in the pot for me. Another thing to keep in mind is that you want this stock to have a great flavor, but you also want it to be versatile. If you put turmeric or chipotle in there you are severely limiting the stock's application. The same can be said with garlic, so always err on the lighter side with it.
You are welcome to salt it at this point, which I recommend doing so, but if you want or need greater control over your salt intake you can always salt when you are making the actual meal.
Load everything into a the pot, cover with cold water. Set the heat to high and bring it to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer for 50 minutes. Once it's ready, remove from the heat and let cool for 20 minutes. To store pour into muffin tins and freeze. Each of mine holds about 1/2 a cup, which is a pretty convenient size. Once they are frozen store in a plastic bag for up to, lord I don't know, three months?
On to the soup! Now that we have all the hard stuff done, we can get to the easy bits. Preheat the oven to 350 then split the squash using a sharp knife and a steady hand. There really is no easy way to do it, but a sharp knife goes a long way. Once that's done, quarter the squash length wise, then chop into 1-2 inch segments.
At this point you could peel the skin off, but I prefer to give it 20 minutes in the oven, then it comes off a bit easier. Place the squash, the chopped onion, the thyme, and 1 cup of veg stock in a large roasting pan, drizzle some oil on top, let it roast for an hour to an hour and a half, turning the squash every 15 minutes until all sides are caramelized.
Next place the contents of the roasting pan into a large pot, removing the thyme stems. Add the remaining vegetable stock and cloves. Grate nutmeg into the soup to taste, I like about 1/2 tablespoon. Please use fresh nutmeg and grate it straight into the pot. If you used the pre-ground stuff or try to grate it ahead of time it looses most of its potency. Allow to simmer for an additional 20 minutes, blend using an immersion blender, then add salt to taste. Immersion blenders are like 15 bucks on Amazon, best purchase you've made all winter, believe, believe. Garnish with homemade croutons and thyme.
