Italian-Style Rustic Tomato Stock

By Mark Bittman

Italian-Style Rustic Tomato Stock
Sam Kaplan for The New York Times. Food stylist: Suzanne Lenzer. Prop stylist: Maeve Sheridan.
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(51)
Notes
Read community notes

Here’s the problem with homemade stock: It’s so good that it doesn’t last long. What’s needed is something you can produce more or less on the spot.

Although water is a suitable proxy in small quantities, when it comes to making the bubbling, chest-warming soups that we rely on in winter, water needs some help. Fortunately, there are almost certainly flavorful ingredients sitting in your fridge or pantry that can transform water into a good stock in a matter of minutes.

This recipe is meant to be fast, so by ‘‘simmer,’’ I mean as little as five minutes and no more than 15. You can season these stocks at the end with salt and pepper to taste, or wait until you’re ready to turn them into full-fledged soups.

Featured in: Simple Stocks for Soup on the Fly

Learn: How to Make Soup

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:About 6 cups of stock
  • 1tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2teaspoons minced anchovies
  • Olive oil
  • 3cups crushed canned tomatoes
  • 1sprig thyme, rosemary or basil (or a combination)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

5 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 0 grams protein; 22 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Sauté 1 tablespoon minced garlic and 2 teaspoons minced anchovies in olive oil until fragrant.

  2. Step 2

    Add 3 cups crushed canned tomatoes, 3 cups water and a sprig of thyme, rosemary or basil (or a combination) if you like.

  3. Step 3

    Bring to a boil, simmer, then fish out the herbs if you used them.

Tip
  • Mexican-style: Substitute 1 tablespoon minced chipotle in adobo for the anchovies, and add a small minced red or yellow onion to the sauté. Stir in the juice of a lime at the end.

Ratings

4 out of 5
51 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

Annie

Try basil on its own and you have the perfect tomato stock to start all sorts of dishes, including plain and good marinara, but you can go on from there to more elaborate sauces. Very good, do this all the time with garden tomatoes at season's growing end and either can in quart canning jars, process to keep ad infinitum, or freeze in plastic quart containers. Worth the effort for almost a year's worth of good tomato broth for use at will.

PF

Leave out the anchovy, and run this through a food mill to even out the texture. It makes the best foundation for a vegetarian risotto.

Devon W

Don’t sauté in olive oil. Use grapeseed or avocado . Higher smoke point

PF

Leave out the anchovy, and run this through a food mill to even out the texture. It makes the best foundation for a vegetarian risotto.

Annie

Try basil on its own and you have the perfect tomato stock to start all sorts of dishes, including plain and good marinara, but you can go on from there to more elaborate sauces. Very good, do this all the time with garden tomatoes at season's growing end and either can in quart canning jars, process to keep ad infinitum, or freeze in plastic quart containers. Worth the effort for almost a year's worth of good tomato broth for use at will.

Private notes are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.

More From More Stock Recipes

More Recipes From Mark Bittman

Cooking Guides