The broth is already going.
It went on before the fire was fully caught, before the door opened, before you came downstairs and decided what you needed. The herbs gave up what they had an hour ago. What is in the pot now is the distillate of that — clear, with some weight to it, the smell of parsley moved from sharp to mellow. Lift the lid and it asks to be drunk.
Nothing in this is difficult. Most of it is done by the time you begin.
Long-Cooked Herb Broth Serves 2 to 3. Pour it from the pot directly into the mug.
- 6 cups water
- 1 small onion, halved — skin left on, for color
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed flat
- A large handful flat-leaf parsley, stems and leaves together
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns, lightly cracked
- A strip of lemon peel, 3 inches long
- Salt
- A small squeeze of lemon, to finish
Put everything in the pot. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower to a bare simmer. Leave it, covered, for forty minutes. The herbs are not ready when they look done; they are ready when the smell of the parsley has moved from sharp to mellow and the broth has taken on some color.
Strain through a fine sieve. Press the herbs — they still have something in them. Salt to taste. Add the lemon squeeze: not enough to taste lemon, enough to lift what is already there.
Drink it hot. From the mug, not a bowl. The hands are what warm, and the mug is what the hands hold.