Court Bouillon – Organic vegetable broth with Guérande salt

Court Bouillon is the name of the salt makers' vegetable broth

Court Bouillon is the organic vegetable broth from L'Atelier du Sel: Guérande salt, carrots, leeks, and onions, plus three types of seaweed, thyme, bay leaf, and ginger. A seasoning base ready for sprinkling into broths, soups, and stocks—no yeast extract, no glutamate, no added sugar; it contains naturally occurring sugar. Not a bouillon cube, but visible ingredients.

Court Bouillon is a classic of French cuisine: a short-simmered broth in which fish, shellfish, or vegetables are gently cooked. The *paludiers* (salt makers) of L'Atelier du Sel, the workshop of Morel et Le Chantoux, mix their Guérande salt with organic vegetables, herbs, and seaweed for this purpose—all you need to add is boiling water. In France, the court bouillon has been on the stove for generations whenever fish is on the menu.

Even when dry, the mixture smells of bay leaf, thyme, and a fresh sea breeze. In the pot, it turns into a clear, golden broth—salty, savory, aromatic, with the subtle sea note of the seaweed and a gentle hint of spice from the ginger at the finish.

A broth for mussels, fish, and fine soups

Court Bouillon is the quick base for mussel stock, fish soup, and vegetable broth: simply sprinkle into boiling water according to desired saltiness—a little bit goes a long way, and water turns into broth.

Use it classically as a stock for mussels, brought to a boil with a splash of white wine, served with nothing more than a baguette. Poach a salmon fillet in it, cook asparagus or new potatoes alongside, or use it as a substitute for stock in risotto and light sauces. As a salty side dish, the pickled sea asparagus (samphire) from the same salt marshes is a wonderful pairing.

Chicken broth also benefits: a pinch adds spice and salt to chicken and soup vegetables in one step. And if you need a quick vegetable stock, simply stir the mixture into hot water—season to taste, and it’s ready. Even a simple mashed potato becomes noticeably rounder with half a pinch in the cooking water.

Ten ingredients, three types of seaweed, no yeast extract

The mixture contains Guérande salt, carrots, leeks, and onions, the seaweed varieties nori, dulse, and sea lettuce, as well as thyme, bay leaf, and ginger—all organic quality, inspected by FR-BIO-01.

The recipe avoids flavor enhancers, yeast extract, and glutamate, just as it avoids added sugar. The mixture contains naturally occurring sugar. The seasoning power comes from the vegetables themselves and from the salt, which the workshop harvests by hand in the Mès basin near Assérac—neither washed nor treated, crystallized from Atlantic water in the summer.

You know nori from sushi, dulse has a mild, nutty taste, and sea lettuce brings the green freshness of the coast. Together, the three give the broth its depth, completely without fish ingredients—also practical for vegetarian cooking.

Salt and broth from a single source since 2014

L'Atelier du Sel is the salt workshop of Gilles Morel and his nephew Matthieu Le Chantoux in Saint-Molf, Brittany, founded in 2014 and operating under the family name Morel et Le Chantoux.

The two *paludiers* harvest their salt without any mechanization, so that the structure and taste remain as the sea shapes them, as Gilles and Matthieu emphasize—and the same attitude is in this broth. Their fine sea salt in a shaker seasons daily life, while the court bouillon takes care of the soup pot. You can find all the workshop's specialties collected under L'Atelier du Sel in our shop.

For poaching, let it simmer, do not boil

To poach fish, only let the water simmer; a good 90 degrees Celsius is sufficient—this keeps the fillet tender and the broth clear. Dry and tightly closed, the 250 g pack lasts for many months—and is surprisingly productive. Drunk pure from a mug, with some fresh vegetables inside, the broth is a delight on cool evenings—and warms your hands at the same time.

Organic inspection body FR-BIO-01 – EU/Non-EU Agriculture