Verdurette (Homemade Vegetable Bouillon)

[Belle]

A Taste of the Garden: Verdurette

There are some recipes that are so useful they become part of several dozen other recipes. This is one of those! It is an excellent way to use odds and ends of the last of this year's garden vegetables, or the leftover produce in the crisper drawer. It also makes good use of the aromatic herbs that may still be going strong in your garden.

Verdurette is a Provencal-style vegetable stock concentrate. Once you have a jar of it in the fridge (or cool cellar), you can throw away those dubious cubes of bouillon, those tasteless cans of commercial broth. Plain rice takes on new savor, bean dishes and stews are more richly flavored. A little Verdurette goes a long way, and it will keep for up to a year, so you don't have to make it often.

Salt is used to preserve the fresh vegetables and herbs. If you are on a low-sodium diet, this recipe is not for you. It is best to use a non-iodized salt, such as kosher salt. Regular table salt will work as far as taste and preservation, but the colors of the flecks of herbs and vegetables may darken.

Feel free to experiment, so long as you keep the 4:1 ratio of total fresh minced vegetables and herbs to salt. If you don't have a garden, but occasionally buy those bundles of fresh herbs that have become common at the supermarket, Verdurette is a good way to use up any leftover sprigs. I'm also including a dried herb version, but I strongly suggest you use fresh herbs whenever possible.

One last note: a food processor is very helpful for this. Otherwise, be prepared to do a lot of work with that kitchen knife!

Verdurette

1 part salt

1 part alliums (onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, ramps, etc.)

1 part root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, radishes, etc. Do not use beets because they will turn every recipe pink or red)

1 part greens (kale, lettuce, spinach, lamb's quarters, etc.)

½ part fresh savory herbs (basil, oregano, marjoram, savory, thyme, etc. Go easy on the sage and rosemary as they can be very strong) AND ½ part fresh parsley
OR
1 part fresh parsley AND 1 tablespoon dried savory herbs for each ½ cup of minced fresh parsley

A few twists of freshly ground black pepper

Mince all fresh ingredients very finely. Add salt and pepper and stir until well mixed. Pack firmly into a glass jar. Cover and store in a cool place such as the refrigerator.

To use, add one tablespoon of Verdurette per quart/liter of water.

[GermanAxeman]

Thank you Belle, this is really nice. I copied it to Word Doc. Going to try this.