How herbs can transform your dishes from good to great
Herb appeal
Roast cod with a coriander crust
A large bunch of coriander leaves are finely chopped, then lightly cooked for a few minutes with garlic, cardamom, cumin, paprika, turmeric, chilli flakes and seasoning. Spread the herb mixture onto cod fillets, top with fresh bay leaves and bake in a hot oven. The coriander mix is pungent and spicy, with a hint of citrus from the herbs, while bay leaves add a slightly woody taste. It's all ready in 20 minutes.
Lamb kofte with parsley salad
These little fried lamb meatballs just zing with spices and fresh herbs, and served with a refreshing salad of tomatoes, parsley, green pepper, chilli, oil and lemon. Minced lamb is mixed with dill, mint, parsley, tomatoes, bulgur wheat, walnuts and chilli. This style of parsley salad is common around Greece and Turkey, full of grassy flavours from the herb, and very clean and fresh tasting.
Hearty, herby stew
A high protein, easy vegan dish, with potatoes, cannellini beans, lentils, shallots, carrots and celery, is taken up a level with a huge amount of fresh herbs. The vegetables are all sweated down with garlic, before adding rosemary and thyme, white wine, mustard and bay. Add potatoes, the beans and lentils, cavolo nero, sage and parsley. Lemon is added at the end, with more parsley.
Herb and hazelnut crusted chicken
A herby riff on a schnitzel, you'll need two mixed handfuls of fresh parsley, thyme and rosemary for this recipe. Flattened out chicken breasts are dipped in egg, flour and a lemon, herb and hazelnut crumb before being fried. The rosemary, especially, with its citrus and pine taste, works so well with the lemon to give freshness. You could use turkey or pork fillets, too.
Mussel, onion and parsley chowder
Try a new take on a New England clam chowder with this creamy, hearty soup. Diced onions and potatoes are cooked, then white wine and the mussels are added. Take the mussels out of their shells, reserving a few for garnish. Return to the pan with crème fraîche and milk, thicken slightly, then add a big bunch of chopped parsley. Flat leaf parsley stands up well to cooking, and it adds colour and a grassiness to balance out the cream.
Goan tofu curry
Chunks of tofu are marinated in salt and turmeric for this tasty vegan curry. The tofu is then roasted in the oven, to give it colour and to brown around the edges. Make an easy spicy masala tamarind paste, then fry onions, the paste, add fresh tomato and coconut milk then cook until you have a dark, creamy sauce. Add fresh coriander to serve, which balances out the heat of the chilli with its strong citrus flavour.
Cheddar, chive and ham muffins
Savoury muffins are perfect for brunch or a picnic. These are wonderfully cheesy, with strips of ham and fresh chives. The chives add a delicate onion flavour, perfect with the cheese. They take just 10 minutes to mix, and 25 minutes to cook. If you prefer a veggie version, replace the ham with cubes of feta cheese. They are at their best served just warm from the oven.
Barbecued potatoes with tarragon
Even if it's not barbecue weather you can cook these potatoes in the oven, just to try them with this unusual and totally delicious dressing. It's a mixture of tarragon, chopped unsalted peanuts, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and chipotle flakes, which add smokiness. The tarragon adds a summery aniseed flavour. It can sometimes overpower a dish, but with simple potatoes, it's the star of the show.
Get the recipe for barbecued potatoes with tarragon here
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Crab cakes with lemongrass
The combination of hot, sour and citrus flavours makes these crab cakes a little special. There's some green mango in there, fresh coriander, chilli, shallots, spice, lime and plenty of lemongrass. Lemongrass has a unique flavour and fragrance, a little like sour lemon. The mixture is bound together with egg and breadcrumbs, then fried. These can be a snack, but the quantity is sufficient for three as a main meal.
Beetroot with halloumi and gremolata
Sweet beets are roasted until tender, then topped with grilled halloumi cheese and a gremolata mixture. This is a combination of chopped parsley, garlic, lemon zest and olive oil, traditionally used in Italy with meat dishes, such as osso buco. Here it's mixed with chopped walnuts. The fresh parsley and lemon counteract the earthiness of the beets and walnuts, the salty cheese counteracting the sweetness.
Get the recipe for beetroot with halloumi and gremolata here
Onion, artichoke and sage tart
Sweet and sour onions, fried mushrooms, sage, thyme and artichokes (from a jar) are coated with a rich, cheese custard then baked on shop-bought puff pastry until melting, bubbling and golden. Sage amplifies other flavours – it's aromatic, musky and strong, so it must be used sparingly. The thyme adds sweetness and warmth.
Thai beef curry with peanut sauce
This is an easy, aromatic and creamy curry made with a Thai red curry paste from a jar to speed it up. Strips of rump steak are cooked in a coconut sauce with ground, roasted peanuts, lemongrass, sugar, chilli, fish sauce and lime leaves. You'll have a heady mixture of hot, sour and sweet. Once cooked, add Thai or holy basil. It has the taste and aroma of liquorice, not sweet like Italian basil, but slightly spicy and perfect for Thai dishes.
Roast lamb with salsa verde
Salsa verde (green sauce) is a fragrant, sharp and pungent sauce made with flat leaf parsley, basil, anchovies, capers, garlic, vinegar and oil. It's a perfect accompaniment to roast lamb, as the combination cuts through the rich, sweetness of the meat. The lamb in this recipe is boned and butterflied, so it cooks faster and is much easier to carve. It's marinated, roasted then served with the sauce. You could add some fresh mint to the sauce, too.
Gravadlax with mustard relish
The Scandinavians adore fish, and they love dill, hence this dish is so representative of their food culture. Served with a sweet mustard relish, the dill brings a fresh aniseed taste. It's a very simple recipe, the cure being pepper, salt, sugar, dill and a little mustard. It just needs to cure for three days, but it keeps for weeks. The recipe uses dried dill, which is very strong, but it's as good with fresh – you'll need a large bunch.
Chicken souvlaki
Marinated tender chicken is served with a refreshing couscous salad and some tzatziki, a minty yogurt sauce. The chicken is marinade in lots of fresh oregano, lemon and oil, the potent herb bringing a warm, lemony scent and flavour. The couscous salad contains feta, garlic, lemon, olive oil, diced pepper, chopped mint and parsley, so it's very clean-tasting and quick to put together.
Lamb meatballs in pea and herb broth
Minty lamb meatballs mixed with ricotta cheese, garlic, lemon, breadcrumbs and egg are baked in the oven until crisp. The mint adds a fresh fragrance against the rich lamb. They are served in a vegetable broth with bay, for its deep, woody flavour, and garlic, to which sugar snaps, peas and mangetout are added. Finally add mint and chervil – a delicate herb loved by chefs, like a cross between tarragon and parsley.
Get the recipe for lamb meatballs in pea and herb broth here
Butternut squash, sage and Comté risotto
You'll often see butternut squash and sage combined together in recipes, the musky aromatic herb contrasting with the sweetness of the squash. They are a perfect match in this rich risotto, where the squash is roasted before being added to the rice, to bring out its flavour. Although the recipe uses Comté cheese, Gruyère is similar if you can't find it. Sage doesn't lose its flavour in cooking, unlike many softer herbs.
Get the recipe for butternut squash, sage and Comté risotto here
Basil pesto
You need a large amount of basil to make pesto, but the homemade version is streets ahead of anything you can buy. If you have a food processor, it's pretty speedy, too. Simply whizz up fresh basil leaves with crushed garlic, pine nuts and a fruity, extra virgin olive oil. Then add grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese. It freezes very well, so it's worth planting lots of basil seeds in a sunny spot for its sweet, slightly aniseed taste.
Smoked mackerel and lentil salad
This is such a healthy, tasty salad made with lentils, onion, yellow peppers, lots of herbs and tinned mackerel, so it's quick, and easy on the pocket. The lentils are cooked with garlic, parsley stalks, thyme and bay, to add different levels of flavour. The dressing is a zingy combination of sherry vinegar, mustard and oil. Once it's all combined, you add basil and parsley for colour, aroma and freshness.
Skirt steak with chimichurri
Skirt steak, is an economical large cut which is full of flavour, though you need to cook it at most to medium-rare, or it can toughen. It's perfect paired with this herby, punchy Argentinian sauce. Chopped mint, coriander, parsley and dill are mixed with garlic, chilli, shallot, red wine vinegar, olive oil and lemon to give a fresh, aniseed, minty sauce. It's also fabulous served with lamb.
Guacamole
In everyone's top 10 of Mexican foods, guacamole just isn't the same without fresh coriander. Its pungency, with faint notes of aniseed and strong citrus, balances out the chilli, sea salt, lime, tomato and onion. The key thing is to prepare everything ahead, then mash the avocado at the last minute. And yes, mash, not pulp or purée. Guacamole should be chunky, so mash it with a fork, never in a food processor.
Tomato, Gouda and pesto tart
Tomatoes and basil are perfect partners. If you grow tomatoes, always plant basil next to them, as its pungency repels bugs. Basil is sweet, slightly aniseed-tasting with a hint of liquorice and cloves. In pesto (you can find the recipe here), its creaminess from the pine nuts and Parmesan works perfectly with the acidity of the tomatoes. This tart is simple – fresh tomatoes over a layer of cheese on puff pastry, ready in 35 minutes.
Prawn, pea and courgette risotto
A taste of summer in a bowl. Once you've made risotto, you should add a knob of butter to it and let it rest, covered, for five minutes. In this recipe, you use a garlic and herb butter instead, with parsley, mint, chives and dill, as well as adding the same chopped herbs at the end. They complement the prawns and vegetables perfectly, adding citrus and soft onion notes. Any leftover butter is great for grilled fish or meat.
Mint, pea and chia fritters
These clean, green easy fritters are on the table in 20 minutes. Made with crushed frozen peas and chopped spinach, mixed with ricotta cheese, eggs, fresh mint and dill, it's all mixed together then fried in olive oil. Serve them with some shop-bought tzatziki, to which you add extra fresh mint. The dill is fragrant with a sharp aniseed taste, and combined with the mint, it really makes the ricotta, which is quite bland, stand out.
Rosemary focaccia
Focaccia, a soft flat bread with a crisp crust, flavoured with olive oil, rosemary and sea salt, is originally from Liguria in Italy, home to wonderfully fruity olive oils. You need your best extra virgin olive oil for this easy bread. It's studded with rosemary sprigs before baking, which infuses the dough with a piney zing. It can all be made in a food processor or mixer with a dough hook, and must be eaten on the day it's made.
Warm radishes with tarragon
Once you briefly cook radishes, their pepperiness softens and they become more juicy. In this recipe, they are paired with aniseed, in the form of Pernod (you could use Pastis or Ouzo, too) and fresh tarragon. They are cooked in butter and the Pernod to make a buttery sauce, before adding orange zest and the tarragon. It's important to use heirloom or breakfast radishes for maximum flavour.
Warm new potato salad
Here's a tasty and simple side for a barbecue or midweek meal, great for those who don't like rich, mayonnaise-dressed potato salads. The dressing is just red wine vinegar and olive oil. Ensure you dress the potatoes while still warm, so they soak up the dressing. Then add fresh mint, chopped chives and their edible flowers, to add a subtle hint of onion – chives are part of the allium (onion) family.
Mint choc-chip ice cream
Yes, this ice cream really is this green, and it knocks the socks off anything you can buy. You do need an ice cream machine, however. Make the ice cream base, then blanch two huge bunches of mint so it retains its colour. Blend the mint with cream until it looks like green paint! Once it's ready, pour in a dark chocolate mixture while still churning to add the chocolate "chips". Simply divine.
Rosemary banoffee pie
A classic banoffee has been given a makeover. The caramel is infused with rosemary, so its strong, piney lemon zing cuts through the sweetness of the caramel. There's a biscuit base, then the caramel, made with condensed milk, is spooned on. Add sliced bananas, whipped cream and decorate with rosemary sprigs, which you could dip into egg white then caster sugar to make it look pretty.
Tropical fruit salad
Mint adds a herbal freshness to an easy fruit salad, made with pineapple, melon, lychees, strawberries and jackfruit. Make a vanilla syrup which, once left to cool, adds flavour and prevents the fruit from discolouring. You could add mint stalks and a bashed lemongrass stalk to the syrup, too, to add a more intense flavour.
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