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As spring approaches you may have chores to do
that preclude spending too much time making dinner. Put on a soup or
stew to simmer and add a bouquet garni to flavor it! When dinner
time rolls around you will appreciate the hearty, flavorful dish
–ready to be spooned out and served.
Bouquet garni was coined by French chefs as early as 1380. It is an
aromatic bundle of herbs or plants tied together. Generally, the
stems are tied with kitchen twine and the other end of the twine is
tied to the pot handle. Then, when the dish is finished cooking, the
chef can remove the bouquet garni, leaving the flavors without limp,
soggy branches. (This also enables the secretive chef to keep her
flavorings a mystery.)
The traditional bouquet garni contained parsley, thyme, and bay.
Generally, though, chefs use regional herbs to complement their
dishes and bouquet garni has grown to many combinations as cooks
share recipes on an international scale.
Herbal combinations are generally limited to 3 or 4 herbs with
parsley being included as a flavor facilitator. Parsley blends, it
smoothes strong flavors and boosts the flavor of weaker herbs. Some
combinations for bouquet garnis are:
Bouquet Garni Combinations:
Parsley, chives, chervil-delicate blend for quick cooking sauces
such as butter sauces for fish and young vegetables peas, carrots,
etc.
Parsley, thyme, bay, fennel-seafood soups and stews or for fish on
the grill.
Parsley, bay, marjoram-vegetable soups and stews like minestrone
Parsley, thyme, basil and oregano-mushroom, pepper and tomato based
dishes or marinades, clams or tuna, chowders.
Parsley, dill, tarragon and cilantro-fish chowders and seafood
bisque
Parsley, cilantro, thyme and oregano-mexican black or red bean soups
Parsley, mint, chives,garlic-peas, snow peas, artichokes, potatoes
Parsley, bay, rosemary- Lamb, whole fish baked or grilled, bean or
split pea Soups, roasted chicken, beef and wine stew.
Parsley, bay, sage- Pork, duck, veal and bean soups
Parsley, savory chives or garlic chives-dried beans, chicken broth
and beef.
Parsley, tarragon, leek or chive-Butter sauces for fish and chicken
and root Vegetables such as turnips, parsnips, potatoes and
cauliflower.
Parsley, bay and thyme- beef, lamb, veal, chicken, mixed vegetable
soups and Stews and winter squash, carrots and lentils.
Make a bouquet garni by tying together fresh herb sprigs. Use only 2
or 3 sprigs of parsley and one sprig of thyme and a bay leaf for a 4
quart sauce pot to avoid overpowering the dish. It is extremely
important to remove bay leaves from any dish before serving. The rib
is indigestible and can cause problems if ingested. A clove,
allspice berry or bit of orange peel can be a spicy addition to
poultry, lamb or beef stews.
Another way to make a bouquet garni from fresh herbs is to tie them
inside 2 leek leaves. Place a garlic clove, 2 sprigs of parsley, 1
sprig of thyme, and a bay leaf on a leek leaf. Fold each end over
the herbs, then place another leek leaf across the first one to make
a little packet. Wind kitchen twine around the packet and tie the
ends together. Add this fresh leek bouquet garni to beef stew as it
simmers.
To make a bouquet garni from dried herbs, a rule of thumb is to use
only 1 teaspoon of parsley and ˝ teaspoon of stronger flavored herbs
such as thyme, rosemary and oregano in a small stockpot. These dried
herbs can be placed in a muslin bag, piece of cheese cloth or gauze
doubled. You can also use a tea infuser ball or heat and seal
teabags or a coffee filter tied closed.
Irish Stew
1 ˝ lbs. stewing meat cubes
flour, salt and pepper
few tbs. oil
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup onion, sliced
2 large potatoes or turnips, peeled, cut into bite sized chunks
bouqet garni:
leek with 1 clove garlic, few sprigs parsley, 1 sprig thyme
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup water
Roll meat in flour and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Brown in cooking oil in saucepot.
Add onion, wine, water and bouquet garni and simmer for 2 hours.
Add carrot and potato and simmer additional hour.
Variations: Omit wine and add 1 can of tomato soup and one small
eggplant peeled and cut into bite size pieces. The eggplant will
cook down and disappear in the finished dish. Add just enough water
to cover the vegetables. You can thicken the finished dish with one
or two tablespoons of flour in 1/2 cup cold water, stir in and boil
a few minutes. I cook my stew in a pressure cooker per
manufacturer’s instructions. Add half a bag of frozen, mixed
vegetables cooked, if desired.
Herbally yours,
Marian
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