Food not recipes

David’s herb garden

Right, what is fresh for this year?  For the Spring/Summer I plan to concentrate on herbs, but, with a few alternative ideas that may be either novel to you or a prompt to resurrect some previous ones. And, yes, there are hardly any growing in my garden at the moment either.

ROSEMARY.

Thankfully, a perennial and looking good presently. Classic partner for Lamb, Pork and Goat’s Cheese but also super partners with chocolate, oranges and lemons. For Pork and Lamb add the branches to the roasts which will also flavour the stock for the gravy. With minced meat zap/chop the herb finely and mix well.  Raisins, pine nuts and garlic are also welcome in the mix for both. Finely chopped with Parsley and Breadcrumbs goes well with fish as a stuffing or coating. Rarely seen but a lovely change you could marinade it in chocolate or melted sugar (to make a syrup) which creates a novel dessert dressing And yes, it took me an age to guess it the first time I had it!   

BASIL

Okay, it is not growing in the garden yet but widely available in pots. (Remember to water from the bottom only) These fresh potted arrivals are lovely in mayo and vinaigrette lending a new season freshness to any salads and as mentioned earlier are particularly enhancing to anything cheesy, hot or cold. Strangely, particularly enhancing with parsnips and walnuts. (Not necessarily together, but why not? ) 

CHIVES

Thankfully, aplenty and looking sparkling fresh. Best with mild flavours and soured cream being its best friend, so that opens a few doors. Do remember it needs to be as fresh as possible, so no precuts. I treat it more as a seasoning than a flavouring, so it is a great addition to salads, quiche, tatties and goat’s cheese. Its lightness is also a welcome addition with fish as much for flavour as decoration

I look forward to the next edition when there will be a lot more to discuss.