Vegan umami broth

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 tbsp white miso paste, to taste
2 tbsp vegetable oil
8 dried shiitake mushrooms
A piece of NZ Kombu & piece of NZ Wakame
2 medium onions, unpeeled, halved through the root, very thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, unpeeled, very thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
6 sprigs parsley & fresh herbs from the garden
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 cup green leaves (spinach or kale)
Optional: ½ -1 bag (12g) Sea Chicory Seaweed, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes *

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 300 C. Whisk miso, oil and 2 tbsp water in a small bowl. Crush mushrooms & Kombu Leaves with your hands over a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Add onions, carrot, celery, garlic and parsley and toss to combine. Drizzle miso mixture over vegetables and toss to coat. Bake, tossing halfway through, until vegetables are slightly shrivelled and the mixture fragrant, ~ 60 minutes.
Combine all vegetable & herbs in a large pot. Add peppercorns and 4 litres cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 60 minutes. If desired, add reconstituted Sea Chicory for the last 20 minutes of simmering to release the seaweed jelly with similar benefits to that of collagen. Let broth cool, and then strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Cover & chill until needed (3 days) or freeze up to 3 months.