Bouquet Garni

Make these simple, fragrant, and game changing bundles to add to soups, stews, and sauces, and even fragrant herbal teas. Bouquet garni, or “garnished bundles” as it translates from French to English, are bundles or packages of herbs tied together or rolled into a ball and tucked into cheesecloth or even a tea strainer. Bouquet garni is added to broths, stews, and liquids to add deep flavor and is removed prior to serving the dish. While there is no one recipe for a bouquet garni, most French recipes use thyme, bay leaf, parsley, and often have the addition of basil, chervil, rosemary, and tarragon, depending on the protein or liquid it is flavoring.

Pictured here, I am making simple bundles of herbs using thyme, rosemary, and parsley, plus a few Italian versions with oregano. I make several bouquets at a time, pop a couple into the refrigerator to use for the week, and then freeze several to use later in the season. This works especially well during late fall when we have an abundance of herbs that need to be harvested before the deep freeze of winter arrives. These make wonderful hostess gifts too.