Make A Bouquet Garni
Little bundles of herbs and spices tied
together with twine or wrapped in cheesecloth. These packets
are added to soups, stocks, sauces, braises, or any other dish
with a lot of liquid and a long simmer. A bouquet garni
(pronounced boo-kay gahr-nee) keeps all the herbs together,
making them easy to remove.
Parsley, thyme, and bay leaf are the standard trio. Use
four or five parsley stems, a sprig or two of thyme, and a bay
leaf.
Other aromatics can give your dish a more complex flavor. A
few whole cloves add a touch of warmth and sweetness; a strip
of citrus zest enhances meat-based stews and braises; a sprig
of rosemary, sage, or savory sets a Mediterranean tone; and a
garlic clove is a welcome addition to almost any selection of
herbs.
You can tie a bouquet garni with twine, but if you're using
small spices like peppercorns or cloves, or if you're worried
about thyme leaves getting into a clear soup, you should bind
everything in a more secure wrapping. Cheesecloth is ideal
(some chefs call this kind of bouquet garni a sachet), but
leek leaves or wide celery ribs also work. If the leek leaves
are especially thick and difficult to fold, soften them first
by dropping them briefly in boiling water or zapping them in
the microwave.
Some cooks leave a few inches of twine on the bouquet garni
and tie the end to the pot handle so it's easier to retrieve.
