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Cut up the onions into eighths (if large) or quarters (if small).
Chunk the carrots and celery into 1" sections. Chop the
fennel into bits about the same size as the onions. Quarter the
apple, slice out the core and stem, and halve each quarter.
2
Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil to a big stockpot and heat it
up over medium. Add the onions, carrots, celery and fennel and
sauté over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until you begin to
get some browning on the bottom of the pan and the veggies are
nicely aromatic.
3
Add the remaining ingredients -- parsley, apple, raisins,
peppercorns and thyme -- and give everything a big stir to combine.
4
Top off the pot with just enough water to cover all the
ingredients. The veggies should be just submerged, but not
completely drowning, in order to keep the flavors concentrated; you can
always add more liquid as needed as the stock cooks.
5
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to keep the mixture gently
simmering (it should send up some small bubbles, but not be
roiling). At this point, I generally move my pot to the back
burner, which on my stove is a smaller burner; this lets me simmer
the stock at a low setting, and frees up my front burners for
other cooking as well. Let the pot o' goodies
do their thing for about an hour. Check on it from time to time to
make sure there's still enough water to cover the veggies, and to
give things a stir. After about an hour, the flavor will be at its
peak. Add salt to taste.
6
Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve. Press gently on the
vegetables to extract as much good veggie flavor as possible.
7 You can use it right
away if you like; alternatively, let cool, ladle into storage
containers (leave a little room at the top; the stock will expand
as it freezes), and pop into the freezer.
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