Vegetable Broth (Court Bouillon)

When making vegetable broth, cut the vegetables uniformly so they look attractive, or cut them
into julienne. The time-consuming part of this dish—the julienned vegetables and the broth—can
be done ahead of time. If you don’t want to bother with the julienne, just slice the vegetables.

MAKES 4 MAIN-COURSE OR 6 FIRST-COURSE SERVINGS

1 large carrot
1 turnip
3 leeks
Stalks from 1 fennel bulb (optional)
Bouquet garni
½ cup dry white wine
3 quarts cold water or more as needed to cover
20 fresh tarragon leaves, chopped at the last minute (optional)
Salt
Pepper
Cut the carrot and turnip into fine julienne. Cut the greens off the leeks, rinse them, and use
kitchen string to tie them together with the fennel stalks. Cut the whites of the leeks in half
lengthwise, rinse out any grit, and cut into julienne. Peel apart the fennel blub and julienne each
section. Simmer the vegetables and bouquet garni in the wine and water to cover for 25 minutes or
until the vegetables are soft. Whisk in the tarragon and season to taste with salt and pepper. The
broth keeps for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.