Fresh herbs are beautiful, fragrant, and vibrant, but they lose their look and taste when simmered in soup pots or fried with stews. Losing their flavor is kind of the whole point – they eventually lose it to your dish – but the look and texture of soaked, heat-parched herbs is unattractive, as is fishing out small stems and bits from a pot with steam liquid. Fortunately, there is a very elegant French solution: the bouquet garni (or “garnished bouquet”).
These little herb bunches are used almost all the time in French cooking, so you can buy them dried and pre-tied at almost any French grocery store. (A few years ago I brought some from France as souvenirs, and everyone who got one was accordingly bewitched.) But you don’t have to go to France to use the ostrich garni; Like most French things, the name, which sounds fancy to American ears, belies a very simple maneuver. Just tie a few herbs together with some kitchen thread. There. You now have a bouquet garni. (Sometimes people tie dried herbs in a little cheesecloth to make a pouch, but I prefer to bundle them up.)
You can use any herbs you like, although the combination of parsley, thyme, and a bay leaf is considered classic. Grab about five sprigs of fresh parsley, two sprigs of fresh thyme, and a single bay leaf, tie everything together with twine, and toss it in your soup, sauce, sauce, or braised beef. If you mix it up and want to add to the classic range, then tarragon, chervil, savory, marjoram, or any herbs that you happen to grow in your garden will work wonderfully. You can also add lemon, orange, or lime peel, some fresh ginger, or some vegetables like celery, spring onions, or carrots.
You can also match your bouquet to your meal: My Thanksgiving bouquet garni, for example, contains a mixture of sage, parsley, rosemary and thyme. You can also make bouquet garni for drinks and syrups – just add your herb bundle to a saucepan with water, bring it to a boil, simmer for 15 minutes, then add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Let it steep for at least an hour, then remove the bouquet and use the syrup to flavor your lemonade, tea or cocktail. Lavender and rosemary are a good start, but don’t keep sleeping Bay leaf. Bay leaves don’t get nearly enough play in beverages and syrups.
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