Name: Instant Pot All-Purpose Vegetable Broth
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 3 onions , chopped; 4 scallions , chopped; 2 carrots , peeled and chopped; 2 celery ribs , chopped; 15 garlic cloves , smashed and peeled; 12 cups water , divided; ½ head cauliflower (1 pound), cored and cut into 1-inch pieces; 1 tomato , cored and chopped; 8 sprigs fresh thyme; 1 teaspoon peppercorns; ½ teaspoon table salt; 3 bay leaves

Why This Recipe Works

The moist heat of the Instant Pot easily heightens vegetables' subtleties, making for a full-flavored broth. A base of onions, scallions, carrots, and celery, along with a generous dose of garlic, provided a strong and balanced backbone, and the addition of half a head of cauliflower, cut into florets and added with the water, gave our broth pleasant earthiness and nuttiness. Finally, a single tomato added acidic balance, and thyme sprigs, peppercorns, and bay leaves rounded out the aromatic notes. Although we wanted to be able to dump all the vegetables into the cooker raw, we found that we needed the depth achieved from browning the aromatics with the sauté function.

Before You Begin

To avoid a cloudy broth, do not press on the solids when straining.

Instructions

Using highest sauté function, heat oil in Instant Pot until shimmering. Add onions, scallions, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Stir in 1 cup water, scraping up any browned bits, then stir in remaining 11 cups water, cauliflower, tomato, thyme sprigs, peppercorns, salt, and bay leaves.

Lock lid in place and close pressure release valve. Select high pressure cook function and cook for 1 hour. Turn off Instant Pot and let pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. Quick-release any remaining pressure, then carefully remove lid, allowing steam to escape away from you.

Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer into large container, without pressing on solids; discard solids. (Broth can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months.)