Shrimp-shell broth works for fish stock

Q: What do you recommend using for fish stock if I don't have bones to make my own? I routinely buy chicken stock in a box if I don't have homemade, but haven't tried the fish stock. Is store-bought stock acceptable? What about bottled clam juice?

A: Bottled clam juice adds a lot of sodium. I typically use shrimpshell broth when recipes call for fish stock these days. I buy shell-on, wild-caught U.S. shrimp. After I peel and devein, I toss the shells into a small pot of water with a couple green or white peppercorns and maybe a slice of onion if I have one. After 20 minutes of simmering, I strain the mixture and have a nice broth.

Q: Do you have any recommendations for a dairy-free butter substitute for recipes that rely on brown butter as an ingredient?

A: Have you tried Miyoko's cultured vegan butter? I haven't tried browning it, but I've cooked with it — and eaten it on bread and crackers (it's fantastic). I'd bet it would brown nicely.

Q: I have a bag of Parmigiano-reggiano and Jarlsberg cheese rinds in my freezer because I know these are supposed to be good soup additions. When do I add the rind(s) and when do I remove them? Which types of soups? Any other uses for leftover cheese rinds?

A: Add the hardcheese rinds to your tomato sauce and onion soup and minestrone for the simmering part of the cooking; fish them out when the cooking's done.

You can even make a cheese-rind-only broth (just rinds and water) that can be subbed in for times when you might use chicken or vegetable broth. A cheese-rind broth might be good as a base for a cream of broccoli soup, say, or risottos.

Q: I thought adding salt before cooking was supposed to toughen the bean skins (not in a good way).

A: That's a myth. Adding salt to the soaking water has been shown to soften the beans' skins. Adding salt to the beginning of cooking might slow down the cooking a little, but not much, and it seasons them beautifully and much more effectively than adding salt at the end. Also, kombu (an edible kelp) added to the cooking pot has been proven to do much of the same work as soaking.