The Delicious Way To Use Up Leftover Red Bell Pepper Stems

Red bell peppers are a nutritious fruit (yes, fruit!) rich in vitamins C, B6, and K1, among others, that provide a delicious addition to soups, salads, fajitas, and much more. With such versatile properties, you might be overlooking a handful of mistakes to avoid when cooking red bell peppers for certain dishes, including not cutting, peeling, or cooking them properly. If you already know exactly how to prepare your red bell peppers, then the one thing to keep in mind is how to make the most out of every part of this wholesome produce. Save your leftover stems and avoid food waste by adding them to your next batch of umami vegetable stock. Within your red bell pepper discards lies the key to a fully flavorful veggie stock with myriad tasty uses.

Having a rich vegetable stock comes in handy for many different dishes, whether vegetarian or not. Go beyond the basic mirepoix mixture of carrots, onions, and celery to give your next soup base the depth it deserves. Save bell pepper stems along with the rest of your veggie peels and scraps to make a mindblowing broth. In addition to acting as a soup base, you can even use vegetable stock for sauteing if you're out of oil.

Because the pith inside of bell peppers can generally turn a stock bitter, it's best to use just the stems as your scrap vegetable inclusions. As red is the sweetest of all bell peppers, it's the ideal choice for adding a small amount to kick up your stock. Though onions, celery, and carrots are the main building blocks of a reliable vegetable stock base, you can definitely get creative by adding other ingredients such as parsnips, leeks, and garlic to the mix. When it comes to red bell peppers, while less is more, these are still a worthwhile ingredient to keep on hand for your stock.

Low and slow is the way to go for cooking the most robust and flavorful stock. Be sure to strain your completed stock carefully and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator or portioned into an ice cube tray in the freezer for convenient access. You can use your vegetable stock for soups, stews, braising, and beyond, paying special attention to any dish that would benefit from an extra punch of red bell pepper flavor.