I couldn’t imagine my kitchen without fresh herbs. A simple dish can be transformed by
using a few fresh herbs as they greatly enhance the taste, appearance and
nutritional value of practically all the food we eat.
The word “herb” comes from
the Latin herba, meaning grass or green plant. These days we associate
herbs for their culinary and medicinal value. In the kitchen, bland food can be
made exciting with the addition of herbs and they can also help to enhance and
bring out the natural flavours of food in a similar way to salt, but it is
important to use herbs correctly. Too many herbs can overpower and completely
overshadow the natural flavour of food and too little in a dish will achieve
nothing. The addition of herbs must be balanced to complement the natural
flavours that are already in foods. They do deteriorate very quickly once they’ve been
picked, so by growing a small selection of herbs, even in pots or
a window box, they will always be on hand when you need them. Early spring is the perfect time to organise your herb
garden. For the restaurants,
I have just planted a few more obscure, almost
forgotten herbs like Summer savoury, lovage; woodruff, hyssop, borage and rue,
alongside other favourites such as parsley, chervil, tarragon, mint and lemon
balm to complement the sturdy Mediterranean herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme,
fennel, marjoram and oregano. Mediterranean herbs have
played an important part of people’s culture and well-being for thousands of
year. Records date back to 2800BC when the ancient Egyptians used herbs for
dyes, perfumes and food.
When cooking with herbs, there are a couple of basic
rules you need to apply: Herbs with tougher leaves, generally have a stronger
flavour and are usually added at the start of cooking - e.g. sage, rosemary,
thyme, winter savoury. These herbs can also be added towards the end of
cooking, but in this case they need to be very finely chopped and used
sparingly. Whole sprigs can be added to soups, stews, casseroles, roasts and
marinades, but they should be removed before serving. If the plants have soft,
lush leaves, add them at the end of cooking, in order to retain their full
flavour, colour and nutritional content - e.g. parsley, chervil, chives, basil,
mint, coriander and dill.
Fresh herbs are much more gentle than dried, normally requiring twice as much in any recipe. Dried herbs & spices need time to release their flavours and are added to the food at the beginning of cooking, while fresh are much better when added near the end.
Fresh herbs are much more gentle than dried, normally requiring twice as much in any recipe. Dried herbs & spices need time to release their flavours and are added to the food at the beginning of cooking, while fresh are much better when added near the end.
So how can we maximize the use of our herb garden?
Well you could make Herb
vinegars by placing fresh herbs into a bottle of vinegar and letting it stand,
sealed, for at least 2 to 3 weeks. These vinegar's are ideal as salad dressings
and used in various sauces such as hollandaise. You could do the same with
non-aromatic oils to make aromatic herb oils; Suitable herbs include Tarragon,
sage, marjoram, rosemary, thyme and savoury. How about herb butter? Finely
chopped herbs can be mixed with butter and used with freshly baked bread or to
add flavour to roasted tomatoes and boiled vegetables.
Herb salts can be really
useful as well, mix a little chopped thyme, rosemary, oregano and marjoram with
flor de sal to make a wonderfully aromatic herb salt.
Local, wild herbs flavour one of the Islands most popular
dishes, Frito Mallorquin. I must
admit that most frito’s that I have tasted in local restaurants have
been extremely disappointing and this is due to the fact that this is a dish
that has to be cooked and served immediately and does not respond well to
re-heating as it tends to dry out. The fritos you see on the counters of
some tapas bars that are then heated in the microwave are the worst offenders.
It is a dish that has many variations and can be made with chicken, pork or
lamb. The most memorable frito that I have ever tasted was prepared and cooked
for me by my friend and wonderful Chef, Benet Vicens of Bèns D'Avall restaurant
in Soller. He called it “frito mallorquin de calamar” (squid) and it
was a delight. The vegetables and squid were just cooked and it also looked
appealing and colourful, flavoured with mint, fennel and marjoram. Here is my
simple Frito Mallorquin recipe for you to try at home inspired by Benet.
FRITO MALLORQUIN
Take 250g of diced pork loin or neck and fry it in 150ml of
olive oil until golden brown, then add 250g of diced pancetta (streaky bacon) cook
for another 2 or 3 minutes and remove. Then pan fry 250g of diced pigs liver
for 1 minute and place all the meat in an earthenware bowl. Fry 600g of
diced potatoes in olive oil until golden brown. Add 1 finely chopped red
pepper, a bunch of chopped spring onions, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon
of paprika and a bay leaf and cook for a further 3 or 4 minutes until all the
vegetables are soft. Mix with meat and season to taste. Sprinkle with chopped
fennel, mint and marjoram and serve immediately. Serves 4-6.
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