Frost Bites - The Herb Garden

Welcome to The Herb Garden, a directory which lists the main herbs used in cooking my recipes (and those by other chefs as well!). Please let me know if I have left your favourite off the list.

Happy cooking and eating!

Ken

Angelica

The leaves of this tall plant can be used as a vegetable, added to salads or cooked with fish. The stems can be eaten raw like celery or crystallised and used in ice creams and as a cake decoration. The root is sweet when cooked, and can be used for stewing with acid fruits such as rhubarb or gooseberries.

Balm (lemon balm)

This has green, heart-shaped leaves. It has a lemony smell and taste, it is good with fish, poultry and ham dishes. It adds a zesty flavour to plain boiled rice. It can also be used in summer fruit drinks and as a herbal tea.

Basil

This Herb has a distinctive taste and aromatic scent. It is often used with tomatoes and in Italian cookery. It is also good with salads, lamb, grilled meat, green vegetables, tomato soup and in Pesto Sauce. Basil grows for a short period in summer and needs plenty of sun.

Bay Leaves

This Herb has a strong, spicy. One or two leaves are all that is needed to flavour a dish. Bay leaves forms part of a bouquet garni. It is mainly used in meat and fish casseroles, and marinades for fish and poultry. However, it is also used in soups and stocks and to flavour infusions of milk for use in sauces such as Béchamel (used in Lasagne). Bay trees can be pruned like hedges to a desired shape.

Borage

This Herb has slightly hairy leaves, and the blue flowers have a flavour of salt and cucumber. It is mainly used in Pimms and other cool summer drinks, it can also be used in salads. The flowers can be crystallised and used as decorations for cakes and sweets.

Chervil

This has a delicate, sweet flavour and is used in a similar way to parsley. It is good in salads, with a variety of vegetables, especially new potatoes; and as a flavouring for sauces such as Hollandaise. It also blends well with egg, cheese and chicken dishes.

Chives

Chives are members of the onion family. They have narrow, green leaves which are the edible part. They are best used raw to flavour salads and dressings; and as a garnish for soups and savoury dishes. They should be snipped into short lengths before use.

Coriander

This Herb is mainly grown for its seeds but the leaves have an unusual flavour. They are used in Middle Eastern and Indian dishes, salads and chilled soups.

Dill

The feathery leaves (known as dill weed) are used as a herb, and the dried dill seeds as a spice. Dill weed has a mild, sweet, caraway flavour. The dried dill seeds are more pungent. Dill is used in salads, as a garnish, in scrambled eggs, white meat dishes and with salmon.

Fennel

Both the feathery leaves and seeds are used in this Herb. It has an aniseed flavour, and the seed is a good aid to digestion. It is a classical flavouring for fish-especially oily fish where it counteracts the richness.

Fines herbes

This is a mixture of finely chopped leaves of chives, chervil, parsley and tarragon. Fines are used in omelettes, with fish, poultry and salads.

Garlic

This is the most pungent of the onion family. It is available in three varieties, white, red and pink. Choose cloves that are hard and firm. The strong taste of garlic is held in its oil and is passed through the lungs on the breath and, if enough is eaten, through the pores of the skin. It is used widely in savoury dishes (see my recipes) and to flavour butter.

Horseradish

This Herb is a root of the mustard family. It has a hot, pungent taste; you have been warned! It is used raw, grated into dressings normally cream based and is classically served with roast beef. Horseradish is also good with some fish, and as a flavouring for sandwich fillings.

Lemon Grass

Lemon grass is grown mostly in tropical and sub-tropical countries. However, it is imported to the West; in fresh and dried forms and as a powder (sereh). It has thick, grass like leaves which smell and taste of lemon. It is most often used in Asian cooking to flavour curries and meat dishes. It can also be used with fish and to flavour sweet puddings.

Lovage

This Herb has a sharp peppery flavour, which is good in all strong tasting savoury dishes and soups. Lovage leaves add an unusual tang to salads, and are good in cold roast beef sandwiches.

Marjoram

This Herb has a spicy, slightly bitter, nutmeg-type flavour. It is good in stuffing, rubbed over roast meats, in meat soups, on pizza and in home-made sausages. It can also be used in egg dishes, on buttered vegetables and in cream soups.

Mint

There are many culinary varieties of mint with different flavours and aromas including; peppermint, spearmint, applemint. It is usually sold dried, but is very easy to grow. Use fresh for Mint Sauce or jelly with lamb. Use Mint as a flavouring for potatoes, peas and other vegetables and to garnish wine and fruit cups.

Mixed herbs

A mixture of dried herbs usually; parsley, sage, thyme, marjoram and tarragon. These are used for seasoning savoury dishes which do not require individual herbs, e.g. soups and casseroles.

Oregano

This Herb is a member of the marjoram family. Oregano can be used with meat, sausages, soups, pizza and other Italian dishes, tomatoes, in salads, with cooked vegetables and in egg and cheese dishes.

Parsley

A mild, pleasantly flavoured herb with flat or curly leaves which makes an attractive garnish sprinkled on food. Most of the flavour is in the stalks which are used as a classic ingredient for bouquet garni and fines herbes. Parsley can be used in sauces for ham and fish, with vegetables, in stuffing and butters, salads and as a garnish. You can also use it to take away the smell of Garlic on your breath by chewing a fresh sprig.

Rosemary

A strong pungent herb with spiky leaves. The flavour can overpower other herbs so use it on its own and sparingly in meat, fish, poultry and some sweet dishes. It is excellent with lamb and barbecued meats.

Sage

A large leafed herb with a strong, slightly bitter taste. It is good in stuffing's, casseroles, salads, with meat dishes such as pork and sausages and also in egg and cheese dishes.

Tarragon

Has a distinctive and unusual flavour. There are two main species, the French variety being better than the Russian. It is one of the herbs used in the Fines herbes mixture and is also used in Hollandaise, Béarnaise and Tartare Sauces. It is used to flavour wine vinegar, in marinades, with fish and chicken, tarragon butter and sauce for ham.

Thyme

This Herb comes in many varieties, garden and lemon are the most common. Thyme has a strong aromatic flavour, and is a constituent of bouquet garni. It can be rubbed over beef, lamb and veal before roasting; and used in soups, stuffing's, Bread Sauce, with carrots, onions and mushrooms and in dishes cooked with wine. Lemon thyme is especially good in stuffing's for veal and with egg and fish dishes.

Don't forget that I have collated 120 of my favourite recipes, together with anecdotes of my travels, in a book “Accountants Can Cook”. This can be viewed by clicking Accountants Can Cook.

Over time I would like to make this site as interactive as possible; namely I would like to include:

Ken

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