Bouquet Garni Recipes

The French term “bouquet garni” is used to describe a combination of herbs which are bundled together and used to flavor dishes by being placed in cooking pots as they simmer on the stovetop, and then removed before serving. Some refer to this as an “herb posy”, “savoury herb posy, “bouquet fagot”, “bouquet faggot”, “faggot of sweet herbs” “garnished faggot”, “kitchen bouquet”, and more.

Basic Bouquet Garni Recipe (Fresh Version)

2 sprigs thyme
5 sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf

Bunch and tie the fresh herbs together with a long string and drop the bundle into pot as it simmers.

Bouquet Garni Recipe (Dried Version)

A bouquet garni can also be made from dried herbs. Here is a good recipe for bouquet garni using dried herbs:

1 T tarragon
1 T parsley
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf

Place dried herbs in cheesecloth or leek leaves, bundling and securing with a string, or use a fine-mesh tea ball. You can also pick up little muslin drawstring bags that are made especially for bouquet garni at some kitchen supply stores, grocery, and health food stores. Drop into simmering pot on stove.

The dried variation makes it easy to give as gifts.

*~* herbbee *~*

The classic and essential ingredients of a bouquet garni are bayleaf, parsley, and thyme. Some recipes add other herbs to the mix such as tarragon, marjoram, chervil, savory, and rosemary. Some even add peppercorns, orange peel (as with the Provençal variation of bouquet garni), Fennel, garlic, onions, celery and other vegetables to the mix.

Bouquet garnis are perfect for casseroles (including vegetarian), soups, stocks, stews, ragouts, and Bechamel sauce.

*~* herbbee *~*

If you’re looking to buy pre-bundled bouquet garni, there are several places you can find it online (or in stores):

Bouquet Garni Wraps and Bags



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