You know those cold dreary days of winter? Those days filled with dampness and grey? It’s on those days that nothing sounds better than a hot bowl of nourishing soup. Have you ever thought about what’s behind the best bowl of soup? What’s the key to making it all come together in one harmonious sip? It all comes down to the broth. The base. Now, most people reach into the pantry for a box of chicken or vegetable broth and don’t give it a second thought. I want to teach you how easy it is to create your own broths from scratch that are more nourishing, packed with trace minerals and vitamins, and made with love. It’s honestly quite simple once you have the basics down. In this Walk With A Witch I will walk you through how to create four different broths, from a basic herbal vegetable broth to a complicated herbal broth with many herbal additives. There is something for every herbal skill level in here so no need to be intimidated.
When I first started making broths I was living in Los Angeles where the cost of living is so high I couldn’t afford much, even for food, and had to think about every scrap as a resource. I began saving the ends and scraps of all the vegetables that I cooked with; carrot tops, onionskins, broccoli stems. You name it, I would save it. I would keep a bag of scraps in the freezer and when it got full I would make broth. I’d put it all in a big pot with water, salt, pepper, and if I had extra, some fresh garlic cloves. I would even save the carcasses of roasted chickens in the freezer and add that to the broth for extra nourishment. I still to this day practice this method as a means of being frugal and sustainable, but I now add way more fresh vegetables and medicinal herbs to the batch to fortify it. I’ve also graduated into making an herbal broth a week so my past frugal method of making vegetable broth is employed less frequently.
My journey into herbalism has led me to trying to incorporate herbs into every aspect of my life, including my cooking. And I’m not just talking about thyme, rosemary, and sage. I’m talking about Usnea, Reishi, Wakame, Astragalus, Echinacea, Burdock, Red Clover, Nettle, etc. I could go on but I’ll save that for the recipes.
I want you to try a little exercise with me. Imagine the best cup of tea that you’ve ever had. Think of the way the steam first hits your nose and tickles your senses with scent. You blow on it a little increasing the warm, dewy sensation on your nose and face. You take a sip and the flavors and feelings of the herbs hit your mouth. What do you remember? Sweet, floral, uplifting notes? Astringent, bitter, dark notes? Now, I want you to try to do the same thing with broth. Think of sipping the broth from the best bowl of soup you’ve ever had. Can you do the same thing as you did with the tea? Can you remember the scent as it hit your nose? Can you remember the complex flavors that you tasted? I’d be willing to wager that most of you cannot. That’s because most of the broth that you experience is lacking in depth and complex flavors. Which ultimately means that it’s lacking in nutrients, plain and simple. This base for so many of our dishes has so much potential and yet, for so many, it is merely wasted space, just filler.
Let’s start off by talking about the basics. The most basic components of a broth are water, salt, and either meat or vegetables such as carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. You could throw all that into a pot and let it simmer for 45 minutes, and you’d have a very affordable, nourishing base for your soups. But why stop there when we can add in so many other delicious and nutritious (not to mention accessible) ingredients to fortify your base?
If you want to add a little more UMPH to your basic broth with ingredients from most every pantry, you could add in pepper, rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, or cayenne. So many herbal options just from your cooking herbs! I hope you’re starting to see how these broths can be so much more than just a box off a shelf.
Now, when I’m deciding to make an herbal broth, I think first about what types of dishes I want to use it for that week. It’s wintertime here in the PNW so I’ve been making soup at least once a week. I also know that I will drink a couple of cups of it on its own throughout the week. If I’m cooking chicken, or rice, I will use the broth for that as well. Now that I know what dishes I will be using it for I can think of the flavor profile I want to aim for. If I’m making an Asian style soup I will want it to have a deep umami, or savory, flavor component. I will also probably want it to be a bit spicy potentially with a hint of sour. If I’m making an Italian soup then I will want it to have a rich chicken flavor, with noticeable aromatic notes. Next, think of the underlying base flavor that you’re going for. You can make a vegetable base, a mushroom base, a fish base, a chicken base, a beef base, or even a pork base. I also think about what types of nutrients I want to add to my diet. For wintertime I may want to increase the amount of herbs I’m adding that have immune boosting properties. If I’ve been experiencing digestive issues I may want to think about what types of herbs would be helpful to restoring gut balance. Sometimes I add new herbs to my pot that I’ve been learning about a lot recently, and if you’re an herbalist of any level this is something you can think about and try as well.
If you’re completely new to this style of cooking, and don’t really feel confident in your ability to make the right herbal choices, that’s ok! Please don’t be discouraged, find someone else’s recipes and use those! You don’t have to have the knowledge of an herbal library to craft wholesome broths for your family. There are so many recipes available online to experiment with. As you’re making broths from recipes think about these things though. Smell each ingredient before it goes into the pot. Smell the broth in different stages of simmering. Taste the broth constantly and don’t be afraid to adjust. Does it taste a little bland? It probably needs a little more salt. Does it need more of a kick? Try adding more pepper, some jalapeno, or even some cayenne. Maybe it’s a little too bitter. To fix this all you need to do is add either something sour, something sweet, or a little of both. Try squeezing some lemon into it, or even adding a green apple. And if you’re experiencing something funky with your broth, don’t give it up! Try looking for the answer online and I’m sure you’ll find how to fix it.
I want to make sure you understand why I’m adding medicinal herbs to my broths, and how they can help increase your vitality. When we just grab a box of chicken broth from the pantry, what you’re mainly getting in terms of nutrients are essential fatty acids and proteins. Depending on what else was used to make the broth you may be getting trace amounts of selenium, vitamins B1,C, A, D, E, K, antioxidants, and carnosine. By adding in different herbs and vegetables you can add in vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that can help keep your body functioning properly and may help prevent disease. Take for example Kale, some people may have a hard time eating dark, leafy greens like this. Well if you add it to your broths, you’re getting the benefits of kale without having to eat it. If you add a couple of kale leaves into your broth you’re adding in vitamins A, K, B6 and C, calcium, potassium, copper and manganese. If you add in a handful of Shiitake Mushrooms you’ll add in 72% of your daily recommended intake of copper and 33% of your DRI of selenium. They also contain a cholesterol-lowering compound and compounds that help protect against cellular damage. Let’s look at a more medicinal herb, one of the most popular in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Astragalus. I often add a couple of slices of this to my broths for its ability to support the immune system by promoting normal levels of specific immune cells and it’s known support of the respiratory tract. Another herb I use in almost every broth because of its immune support is Usnea, or Old Man's Beard. This herb promotes healthy kidney function, which in turn promotes a healthy immune function in the respiratory and urinary tracts.
You see how the possibilities of what a broth can be have now expanded in your mind? We went from boxed chicken broth to incredibly intricate herbal broths. I hope that you feel confident in your ability to go forward and craft a delicious and nutritious herbal broth for yourself with this information. There are so many options when it comes to using herbs in broths; I know it can be overwhelming. I’ve created four different broth recipes, for all different levels of comfort, so I hope you give them a try and start expanding your view of how broths can be useful aids in our overall health. Once you feel confident, start adding in herbs that are appealing to you, don’t be intimidated to begin communing with herbs.
Herbal Broth Recipes
If you want to add a meat component to these broths feel free to add the bones of your choosing to the broth. You can also add 1-2 tablespoons of a bouillon or miso if you’d like.
Feel free to substitute and add to your liking. If you’re wondering where you can buy quality medicinal herbs here are a few suggestions to get you on your way to making delicious, healthy creations!
https://iwillaremedy.com (Black Female owned and all herbs are sourced from Black growers)
Beginner Herbal Broth:
6-8 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon rosemary (or 2 fresh sprig)
1 tablespoon sage (or a few fresh leaves)
1 tablespoon thyme (or 4 fresh sprig)
½ tablespoon oregano (or 2 fresh sprig)
1 tablespoon parsley (or 6 fresh sprigs)
2 green onions
4 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 kale leaves
½ spinach bunch
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
Add all ingredients into a large pot of water. Simmer for 45 minutes or until flavor is condensed enough. Adjust seasonings as needed. Strain out all the material using a large colander. Store in a mason jar in the fridge for up to a week.
Dabbler Herbal Broth:
6-8 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 dried chili pepper
1 tablespoon rosemary (or 2 fresh sprig)
1 tablespoon sage (or a few fresh leaves)
1 tablespoon thyme (or 4 fresh sprig)
½ tablespoon oregano (or 2 fresh sprig)
1 tablespoon parsley (or 6 fresh sprigs)
1 tablespoon echinacea purpurea root
1 cup dried nettle leaves (or fresh if available)
1-inch chunk fresh turmeric
1-inch chunk fresh ginger
1 lemon
1 green apple
2 green onions
4 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 kale leaves
½ spinach bunch
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
Add all ingredients into a large pot of water. Simmer for 45 minutes or until flavor is condensed enough. Adjust seasonings as needed. Strain out all the material using a large colander. Store in a mason jar in the fridge for up to a week.
Herbal Enthusiast Broth:
6-8 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 dried chili pepper
3 astragalus root slices
2 reishi mushroom slices
1-2 tablespoons wakame flakes
4 anise star pods
1 tablespoon black seed
1 tablespoon echinacea purpurea root
1 tablespoon dried alfalfa leaf
½ cup dried nettle leaves (or fresh if available)
½ cup blackberry leaves
1 tablespoon rosemary (or 2 fresh sprig)
1 tablespoon sage (or a few fresh leaves)
1 tablespoon thyme (or 4 fresh sprig)
½ tablespoon oregano (or 2 fresh sprig)
1 tablespoon parsley (or 6 fresh sprigs)
1 tablespoon cilantro (or 6 fresh sprigs)
1-inch chunk fresh turmeric
1-inch chunk fresh ginger
1 lemon
1 green apple
2 green onions
4 carrots
2 celery stalks
¼ small head of cabbage
3 stalks chard or kale
2 collard leaves
½ spinach bunch
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
Add all ingredients into a large pot of water. Simmer for 45 minutes or until flavor is condensed enough. Adjust seasonings as needed. Strain out all the material using a large colander. Store in a mason jar in the fridge for up to a week.
Asian Inspired Chicken, Miso Broth
1 chicken carcass
1 medium onion
1 head garlic
4-6 mushrooms
½ head small cabbage
1 large collard green leaf (or 2-3 small leaves)
2 kale leaves
1-inch chunk fresh turmeric
2-inch chunk fresh ginger
3 reishi slices
2 astragalus root slices
3 anise star pods
½ tablespoon peppercorns
4 jalapeno slices
4 green onions
1 small bunch cilantro
Salt or miso paste to taste
Add chicken carcass to a large pot of boiling water. Simmer for 45-1 hour, skimming off fat every so often. Strain liquid from bones and meat, return to heat. Add all other ingredients, cover, simmer for 45-1 hour or until flavor is deep and condensed. Use as a base for ramen, chinese chicken noodle soup, rice, and more!
Want to learn more??? Journey into the world of the Rogue Witch below!
A modern day alchemist and herbal artist, Pacific Northwest born and raised witch Laura Ursula Quinn spends her days dreaming up concoctions of herbal remedies and natural skin care products. The Rogue Witch is passionate about sharing her love of herbal medicine and helping others with her uniquely crafted herbal and witchery goods imparted with her very own magic. Enthralled with the magic of the woods, Ursula can often be found out collecting plants, dipping her toes in creeks, and scavenging for treasures.
