Oats Free Classic Court Bouillon

Total time45 min

Prep time10 min

Cook time35 min

4.8

(30)

Court bouillon is one of those foundational kitchen preparations that quietly elevates everything it touches — a fragrant, wine-laced poaching liquid built from fresh vegetables, herbs, and a bright hit of lemon. The combination of dry white wine, white wine vinegar, carrots, celery, onion, and aromatics like thyme, parsley, and bay leaves simmers together into something deeply savory and beautifully golden. It's the kind of base that makes poached fish, shellfish, or vegetables taste like they came from a proper restaurant kitchen. Every single ingredient here is naturally free of grains and oats, so there's nothing to second-guess or swap out — just clean, wholesome aromatics doing their job. The technique is straightforward: bring it to a boil, simmer uncovered for thirty minutes, then strain and you're done. Make a batch on the weekend and stash it in the fridge or freezer so you always have a sophisticated poaching liquid ready to go. Once you have this in your repertoire, you'll wonder how you ever poached anything without it.

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Ingredients

4 servings

8 cups cold water
2 cups dry white wine
¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds
4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 dried bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns
½ tsp fennel seeds (optional)
1 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

1
Combine the water, white wine, and white wine vinegar in a large saucepan or Dutch oven.
2
Add the carrots, celery, onion, lemon slices, parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, black peppercorns, fennel seeds (if using), and kosher salt.

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