Stock (chicken, beef, vegetable, dashi)

When herbs and spices are restricted, stock carries the flavour. It is behind most of the savoury recipes here, and it is also the base of the broths and sipping cups that are often the only thing that appeals on a bad day.

The reason stock is marked as needing care rather than allowed outright is that it can carry the very things this diet removes. A homemade stock is full of vegetable debris until it is strained. A shop-bought pot can have visible herbs in it. A stock made from the vegetables in the pan is not clear until you make it clear.

The preparation

Clear and strained, with nothing floating and nothing settled at the bottom. Strain twice, once through a sieve and once through muslin, and chill it so you can lift the set fat off in a sheet. A good stock cube dissolved in hot water is entirely acceptable, and most of these recipes assume one. See clear, strained stock.

Read the label on cubes and pots. Some contain visible dried herbs, and many contain celery, which is worth knowing if you are avoiding it or are allergic.

What this book does

Uses stock everywhere and asks for it strained every time. The recipe for double-strained chicken stock makes a tray of frozen cubes that will improve everything else in the book.

If you have been told to leave it out

That is unusual, but a stock heavy in salt may be limited for other reasons. Milk, butter and cheese will build a savoury base without it.