Fabulous recycling soup

"There's a lot of material in it," said the chef de partie of a three-star restaurant, praising the broth made by his chef de partie—the name given to department heads in larger kitchens. This small remark captures the often wasteful attitude many fine-dining chefs have toward their ingredients—a great deal of "material" is boiled down and then usually thrown away. At the same time, however, it also explains the lackluster broths in less opulent restaurants. Lackluster broths that are then spiced up with granulated broth or replaced entirely with chemicals. Phrases like "add 3 tablespoons of vegetable broth" in many recipes are just a veiled call for stock cubes. I was reminded of this when I recently asked a friend to bring me vegetables for three liters of broth and was then faced with a pitiful bunch of soup greens. It was a no-go. Yet there's nothing more helpful in the kitchen than a strong broth, fresh or frozen. And to make it really good, you need a lot of material.

Luckily, this material also comes naturally; almost any piece of vegetable that you peel somewhere in the kitchen or that is left over from chopping is suitable for vegetable broth (in modest quantities, also for meat broth). Carrots, leeks, and celery always work, but unexpected vegetable leftovers can also help the broth. Potato peels, for example, are full of flavor, and the starch from the peels also thickens the broth a little. The dry part of the onion skin adds more color than flavor, but the first layer of onion underneath usually clings to it and provides the sweet, rounded onion kick. Artichoke leaves, asparagus skins, or even pea pods (for example, from the Spizzulus recipe ) make excellent single-ingredient broths without any other ingredients, and they also work well in a mix (Vietnamese cooks work a lot with the cooking water from individual vegetables and call it "canh"). Cabbage easily becomes too dominant, so I make sure to keep the cabbage content low. Vegetable pieces that don't taste good don't go into the broth either—green parts of carrots, for example, bitter cabbage stalks, artichoke stems, or rotten bits—they're fine in the compost, but not in the food. Before a questionable piece of vegetable ruins the lovely broth later, it's better to throw it away right away. While strolling online recently, I stumbled across a great suggestion from the Milanese Michelin-starred restaurant Aimo e Nadia for a creamy vegetable soup with pulses . The base, of course, is a first-class vegetable broth, and chef Alessandro Negrini uses leftovers, even the trimmings of green beans. Another good idea.

Because there aren't enough vegetable scraps at every dinner to make a pot of broth, I keep a box in the freezer with a capacity of about 2 liters. I collect the leftovers in it. As soon as the box is full, or when I need one, I make the broth. I add a few herbs, spices, tomatoes (if available), and dried mushrooms to the collected material. This then makes a first-class vegetable broth every time. During asparagus season, it often tastes distinctly of asparagus; in January and September, perhaps of artichokes, and sometimes simply of mixed vegetables—the differences bring aromatic diversity to soups, risotto, or sauces. And even though I use a lot of material in the broth, I don't waste a single carrot—thanks to the collection box in the freezer.

1. Combine all ingredients with 1.5 liters of water in a pot, crushing the peppercorns first. Add only a little salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes. Drain through a sieve, squeeze the vegetables in the sieve a little with a wooden spoon, and then discard with a clear conscience. Season the broth to taste and add a little more salt if necessary. To ensure it remains versatile later, use a light salt level. Cool and either refrigerate for a few days or freeze.

1. Combine the flour, milk, and eggs in a tall measuring jug or mixing bowl. Blend until smooth using a hand blender or whisk, and season with salt and nutmeg. Heat a heaped tablespoon of butter in a small pan until it foams and browns until it smells nutty. Mix the butter into the batter and let it rest for at least 15 minutes. Wash the herbs and shake dry, plucking and chopping the leaves. Stir the herbs into the batter (and use the stems for the next batch of broth...).

2. Heat a non-stick frying pan and melt a teaspoon of butter in the pan. Add a small ladle of batter to the pan (for a pan with a base diameter of approximately 20 cm, a ladle with a capacity of approximately 50-60 ml is suitable). Pour the batter in a circular motion to the edges of the pan to form a thin pancake. Cook for 2 minutes, until the surface of the pancake is no longer shiny and moist. Flip the pancake with a bold flick - or use a spatula - and cook for 1-2 minutes until light golden, then slide it out of the pan onto a plate. Repeat until all the batter is used up; for subsequent pancakes, half a teaspoon of butter is enough. Roll the pancakes tightly and cut into strips.

3. Heat the broth. Peel and slice the spring onions, divide them into soup bowls with the noodles, and pour the hot broth over the soup. Grate some cheese over the soup.

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