Bouquet Garni

The day before Hurricane Irene was to tear through our town I went outside to gather as many herbs as I could—just in case.  {I also thought it would be a great way to spend a super rainy, hurricaney day—making Bouquet Garni.}  Bouquet Garni is just wonderful little bundles of herbs to use in soups, stews, stocks, and all your other wonderful cooking.  They are super easy to make—I make two different kinds:  Italian and Provencal.  If you have ever seen them before you have probably seen them in little bags that you can hang on the inside of your pot.  I like to make them in bundles and store them in an airtight container after they dry.  When you are ready to use them—just drop a bundle into your pot, and remove the bundle when done.

There are so many different opinions of the different blends that can be made—and there is no wrong way.  Here are our favorite two:

Italian:

Italian Parsley, Oregano, Bay Leaf, Basil, and Rosemary

Provencal:

Bay Leaf, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Italian Parsley

We grow all these wonderful herbs in our garden—and now is a great time to harvest them to make Bouquet Garni, dry for the winter, and to make special gifts. But, no worries, if you do not grow your own you can pick them up at the store. Be sure to get FRESH herbs—not dried!

Here’s how to do it:

1.  Gather the herbs you wish to bundle from your yard or the store–make sure they are fresh, not dried.  Make sure that you have allowed them to completely dry after washing them. Do not bundle moist herbs—they will turn to mush.

2. Take a few stalks of each herb you wish to include in the bundle {leaves of basil} and only one bay leaf for each bundle

3.  After gathering them together–use kitchen twine to wrap around {criss-crossing} and then tie.

4. Allow your cute little bundles to sit out for a few days to dry—and then store in an airtight container until ready to use for soups, stews, stocks, etc.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

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