French Classics Made Easy (65 page)

When using a brand of stock not in the chart, keep in mind that in most cases you’re better off with an overdiluted canned stock than one that is too strong.

B
OUQUET
G
ARNI

A bouquet garni consists of 4 to 5 sprigs of parsley, 1 bay leaf, and 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh thyme (or ¼ teaspoon dried leaves), which I tie up in a celery rib cut in half. The reason for tying the ingredients together is to enable you to discard them easily once the cooking is finished. If you plan to strain the stock or sauce in which the bouquet garni has been cooking, it is not necessary for you to tie up the ingredients, although it makes skimming easier.

1.
Place the fresh or dried thyme in the hollow of the celery rib half and cover with the bay leaf and parsley sprigs.

2.
Cover with the remaining celery rib half and tie together.

3.
Double Bouquet Garni: If a recipe calls for a double bouquet garni, just double the herbs and tie with the same celery rib.

FISH STOCK

[FUMET DE POISSON]

Fish stock (
fumet de poisson
), can be made from the bones and heads of any fresh fish you buy. It is used when cooking fish and for making soups and sauces. The fish stock can also be reduced to a syrupy Fish Glaze (
page 310
), which can be stored and used for sauces and soups when stock is not available.

Fresh whole fish may be difficult to find and bones nonexistent. In such cases, search for a fish wholesaler in the area. Although most fish is being processed on the two coasts and flown minus heads and bones throughout the country, many wholesalers buy large whole fish, because they remain fresher in that condition. They fillet them locally before selling in smaller portions. You may be able to buy bones from these wholesale markets for your stock.

MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS

2 pounds fish bones and heads (avoid oily, strong-flavored fish such as mackerel and bluefish)

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, sliced

¼ pound white mushrooms, light parts only (see Note), sliced (optional)

10 sprigs parsley

¾ cup dry white wine

3 cups water

1.
Cut away and discard all traces of the liver and the gills from the bones and fish heads. If you have time, soak them in ice water for at least 20 minutes to extract any remaining blood.

2.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms (if using), and parsley and gently sauté over medium heat until the onion is softened but not browned, about 3 minutes.

3.
Add the fish heads and bones, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

4.
Add the wine, increase the heat to high, and reduce the liquid, uncovered, by half, about 3 minutes.

5.
Add the water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

6.
Strain the stock and allow it to cool uncovered before refrigerating.

NOTE

If using mushrooms, do not use the dark brown undersides of the cap (the gills); use only the light-colored portions of the cap and stems.

IN ADDITION

Shrimp shells and lobster shells can also be used to make a quick flavorful stock for seafood dishes. For that reason, I often throw shrimp shells or lobster shells into a bag in the freezer to have on hand.

CHICKEN STOCK

[FONDS DE VOLAILLE]

Chicken stock is easier to make than beef stock because chicken parts are more readily available today than are beef bones. Although I occasionally use a whole chicken or parts to make the stock (and then use the cooked meat for chicken salad), I normally use backs and necks, which are more economical. Hearts and gizzards can also be used, but not the liver, which has too strong a flavor.

The cautions on pot size, boiling, and cooling stock are the same here as they are for Economical Beef Stock (
page 303
).

MAKES ABOUT 3½ QUARTS

1 chicken (4 pounds) or 4 pounds chicken parts, rinsed

4 quarts cold water

1 leek (white part only), washed

2 onions, each studded with a clove

3 carrots

3 ribs celery, with leaves if possible, halved Bouquet Garni (
page 306
)

6 peppercorns

1.
Place the chicken in a stockpot. Cover with the water and bring to a boil over high heat, 15 to 20 minutes. Skim the foam from the surface and reduce the heat.

2.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours, occasionally skimming any more foam.

3.
Strain the stock and allow it to cool uncovered before refrigerating. Remove the fat from the surface when it is cold or before using. Freeze the portion not used, or reduce to form Chicken Glaze (
page 310
), which can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Two quarts of stock will reduce to yield approximately ¾ cup chicken glaze.

VEGETABLE STOCK

[FONDS BLANC DE LÉGUMES]

Vegetable stock can be made more quickly than those made with meat and bones, because extracting flavor from bones takes a long time. To get the most flavor out of vegetables in a shorter cooking time, they should be coarsely chopped into small pieces. Do not boil or cook too long, for the smaller pieces can break up and make the stock cloudy.

The object in making a light vegetable stock (
fonds blanc
) is to have subtle, not overpowering, vegetable flavors. For this reason I remove the dark gills from the mushrooms (though they are fine in a brown vegetable stock; see Variation). And although I encourage you to try other vegetables here, I also recommend that you avoid the strong tastes of turnips and members of the cabbage family.

MAKES ABOUT 3½ QUARTS

10 ounces white mushrooms, washed

3 leeks, washed and coarsely chopped

3 onions, coarsely chopped

4 carrots, thickly sliced

3 celery ribs, with leaves if possible, coarsely chopped

6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

Bouquet Garni (
page 306
)

6 black peppercorns

4 quarts cold water

1.
Pull off the mushroom stems and set aside. Slice off the mushroom gills and discard. Coarsely chop the caps and stems.

2.
Place the mushroom pieces, leeks, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, bouquet garni, and peppercorns in a stockpot. Cover with the water and bring to a boil over high heat, 15 to 20 minutes. Skim any foam from the surface and reduce the heat.

3.
Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, occasionally skimming any additional foam.

4.
Strain the stock and allow it to cool uncovered before refrigerating. Freeze the portion not used.

VARIATION

B
ROWN
V
EGETABLE
S
TOCK

[FONDS BRUN DE LÉGUMES]

In the stockpot, sauté the carrots and onions in 2 tablespoons of light olive oil over medium-high heat until they are well browned, but not burned, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat without browning. Add the remaining ingredients and cover with the water. Proceed as above. Skim any oil from the surface after straining.

MEAT GLAZE

[GLACE DE VIANDE]

I encourage you to make stock in order to use it to make meat glaze. A meat glaze is homemade beef stock (see
page 303
) that has been reduced so that nearly all the water in it is removed. When hot, the glaze has a thick, syrupy consistency; when cold, it is firm yet springy. It can be cut into chunks that can be added to soups and sauces to increase their flavor, or used like a bouillon cube to be reconstituted as a stock. Meat glaze is a convenient way to store large quantities of stock.

Continue using the store-bought stocks you use for your soups and sauces, but have meat glaze on hand to add to them to improve their flavor.

If you make chicken stock frequently and beef stock rarely, reduce your chicken stock to make Chicken Glaze (see Variations), and use it whenever meat glaze is called for. Although you will be adding a different flavor, you will be contributing a richness and intensity to your sauce that otherwise would be missing.

MAKES 1 TO 1½ CUPS

4 quarts Economical Beef Stock (
page 303
)

1.
After removing all the fat from the surface of the stock, boil it uncovered over medium-high heat until only 3 cups remain, about 1½ hours. Skim the stock as it reduces to remove all foam and impurities.