I was poring over Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 today, having taken a quick peek at the beef bourguignon recipe to make sure I actually did have all the ingredients for tomorrow's dinner (I do) when I stumbled across something I swear I've never read before, even though there are parts of that book I nearly have committed to memory.It was a suggestion on page 67 for how to turn canned beef broth into a succulent stock instead of the bland, boring stuff it is. Even though the suggestion was for beef, I figured it could be applied to canned chicken broth as well, so I gave it a whirl in tonight's homemade chicken and noodles and it turned out great.
For transforming canned broth into a more palatable and stock-like concoction, add the following for every two cups of broth (approximately one can):
2 tablespoons chopped carrots
2 tablespoons chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1/2 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth/dry sherry
1/8 teaspoon thyme
a few sprigs of parsley
1 bay leaf
Simmer all these ingredients for half an hour and then sieve out, discarding all the added ingredients. Your "stock" is ready to use and very tasty.
Thank you, Julia, as always.
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2 comments:
Really, when are you inviting me over to dinner?
I have never noticed this recipe either, and I am always thumbing through it for recipes. Will need to try this. So many times in the book she tells us how to make canned things better, and I think a lot of that is because she was writing for American cooks who were used to using canned items back in the days she was writing this. I just close my eyes at the thought of using canned peas...the veritable mush happens whenever I have ever tried to use canned peas. And they taste nothing like peas to me at all. Still, Julia was working with what she knew her audience was working with...applause applause. Thanks for this idea.
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