The last in our series of herbs is savory, a member of the mint family. Savory leaves have strong spicy, peppery flavor and mix well with other herbs.

The flavor of savory is so bold and peppery that the Saxons designated the entire category of spiced foods as “savory,” and the word became synonymous with flavorful foods. Savory is used as a blend in herbes de Provence, and is part of the Arabic spice mix, za’atar.

There are some 30 species of savory, but the two that are valuable as culinary herbs are summer savory and winter savory. Summer savory, an annual, is better known and has more tender leaves; winter savory, a perennial, is easier to grow, stronger in flavor and better for long cooking (beans, soups, stews) due to its coarser leaf.

Winter savory available from WhiteflowerFarm.com.

Savory is a versatile herb; chefs call savory a great mixing herb. It blends well with basil, oregano and thyme, especially in fish, meat and poultry dishes. Add it to chicken salad (one teaspoon freshly minced), marinades, meat loaf, meatballs, turkey burgers and stews. Season your stuffing with a mix of bay leaf, sage, savory and thyme.

Try savory with legumes (green beans, dried beans and lentils), cabbage and sauerkraut, soups and succotash. Add some leaves to salads, pizza and sauces.

FOOD HISTORY: The Romans used savory before they had pepper (which came from India), and considered it an aphrodisiac. Savory vinegar was a popular Roman condiment. During a World War II pepper shortage in Germany, they used savory for a peppery flavor in their cuisine.

]]> http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/16/tip-of-the-day-a-pot-of-savory/feed/ 0 http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/15/tip-of-the-day-a-pot-of-lavender/ http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/15/tip-of-the-day-a-pot-of-lavender/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:59:29 +0000 admin http://blog.thenibble.com/?p=11637

Lavender is a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family. It’s not only lovely and fragrant, but a charming culinary herb. It enhances sweet and savory foods with a floral and slightly sweet flavor.

Bees love lavender nectar—hence lavender honey. And you can drizzle some of that honey over lavender-coated goat’s milk and sheep’s milk cheeses.

Lavender pairs with chocolate, baked goods and desserts (lavender pound cake, lavender scones and lavender ice cream are favorites). The flowers are candied and used as cake decorations.

Lavender sugar is a popular addition to iced tea—but lavender iced tea or hot tea is a must-try if it isn’t already one of your favorites. Steep a spring of culinary lavender the next time you have a hot cup of tea, and see for yourself. Enjoy it with lavender marshmallows. Try this exquisite lavender white hot chocolate.

A bouquet of lavender. Photo by
EwaDacko | SXC.

Lavender syrup can be used to make soft drinks (mix with club soda), to glaze a duck and in so many other ways.

Note the difference between lavender and culinary lavender. You can pick up decorative bunches, but they may have been sprayed with pesticides. Culinary lavender is chemical-free.

You can fill your yard with lavender, or have a herb pot indoors. The herb will add grace to every dish it touches.

Flat-leaf parsley available from
WhiteflowerFarm.com.  

Parsley is perhaps the most common culinary herb—but do you ever use the entire bunch before it yellows away?

If not, a windowsill or garden pot of parsley will add beauty and convenience to your home.

Flat-leaf Italian parsley is more flavorful than the curly variety, so choose it to flavor your dishes. It also has a more modern sensibility as a garnish (or at least isn’t reminiscent of every curly parsley sprig you had in childhood).

Use it daily to add flavor:

If you do buy a bunch of parsley from the supermarket, it will keep for a week or more in the refrigerator if you stand it upright in a glass or plastic container with its roots in water. (This trick works with most herbs.)

Things you may not know about parsley:

And, as with all herbs, it’s an almost no-calorie way to season your food!

As lavender is to Provence, thyme is to Greece. The herb is native to the Mediterranean.

There are almost 100 species of thyme, which can range in color from deep green to gray and golden-green (look for golden lemon thyme). It’s a very aromatic herb—so much so that it lures honeybees (in ancient Greece, thyme leaves were rubbed over the hives to encourage a honey production, and thyme planted as a ground cover is still used to attract butterflies that pollinate fruit trees).

We all need more thyme—it’s one of the leading culinary herbs.

Thyme’s flavor is more delicate than sage and it can be used with similar dishes: eggs, fish, meats, poultry, fish, vegetables, salads, sauces, soups and stews. Toss sprigs into the water before you cook rice.

Thyme is part of the classic herb blend known as bouquet garni, along with bay leaf and parsley.* Use more thyme and less salt.

English thyme is one of a half dozen
varieties available at WhiteflowerFarm.com.

Thyme is so minty and citrussy that it can be used in dessert recipes, added to a citrus sorbet or a Mediterranean olive oil cake. And sprigs can be used to garnish desserts. Plant a pot on your windowsill or in your garden.

A cook’s trick: pull the stems through fork tines to easily strip the leaves.

RECIPES WITH THYME

*There is no set herb combination for bouquet garni: bay leaf, parsley and thyme are most common. But the bouquet—which is bound with string, put in an herb ball/tea ball, cheesecloth or a sachet—varies with the recipe. It can also include basil, chervil, rosemary, tarragon and other herbs.

You can get a sampler of mints from
WhiteflowerFarm.com. From left: Apple mint,
spearmint and peppermint.  

Native to the Mediterranean and popular in western sweets like ice cream and chocolate, mint is a staple in savory dishes as well: that famous English dish, roast lamb with mint sauce and buttered peas (a modern version is lamb stir-fry with mint (add some rosemary, too) and meat and vegetable dishes of Greek and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Mint also migrated east to become a basic ingredient in the meat and vegetables dishes of the Pacific Rim. The aromatic herb has a sweet flavor with a cool, refreshing aftertaste. Try adding a bit to tzatziki and raita.

A few sprigs will enliven a green salad, a beet salad or spicy arugula. Mint mixes well with basil and tomatoes too. It’s an ingredient in tabouli—bulgur wheat, parsley, mint and tomatoes. And it’s so refreshing in iced or hot tea or mineral water.

Mint is a cocktail essential (no mint, no Mojito). We freeze leaves of mint in ice cube trays to add “mint ice” to sparkling water, iced tea and juice.

There are numerous varieties of mint. Common types in the U.S. include apple mint, chocolate mint, ginger mint, orange mint, pineapple mint and the most famous duo, spearmint and peppermint. Each adds its own nuances to dishes. Start with a pot of spearmint. It’s what stores typically sell as “mint.”

Any of the three makes a delicious cup of mint tea.

Mint grows quickly. A pot in your window will encourage you to make the recipes we’ve listed more frequently; and you may become addicted to the fresh mint tea recipe, below.

Mint tea is the unofficial national drink of Morocco. Wherever you go, from shops to homes, you’ll be offered a glass of hot mint tea—green tea steeped with mint. While it is traditionally sweetened, it’s deliciously refreshing with no added sweeteners. Make yourself a cup:

Ingredients
- 1 cups water
- 1 teaspoon loose green tea leaves or 1 green tea bag
- 2-3 sprigs fresh spearmint
- Optional sweetener: agave nectar, sugar or non-caloric sweetener

Preparation
1. Boil water and steep tea. Cover and up to 5 minutes. Add the agave and stir to blend. Strain and serve.

2. Garnish with a mint sprig. While it’s not part of Moroccan mint tea, you can add a squeeze of lemon or lime.

If you are preparing multiple portions, add the bunch of mint to a teapot.

For iced mint tea: Let the tea cool to room temperature, transfer to a covered pitcher or bottle and chill. Serve in a tall glass over ice, garnished with a fresh mint sprig.

If you enjoy cooking with oregano, try it fresh instead of dried. While some people prefer dried oregano to fresh because the flavor is more powerful, the beauty of the fresh herb adds a lot to the visual presentation as well as the aroma.

Oregano is a more pungent relative of marjoram—oregano is also known as wild marjoram. If you’re out of one herb, you can substitute the other. Oregano is a relatively new top spice in America: According to one source, it became popular when soldiers returning from World War II posts in Italy wanted more of it. It’s also a staple of Greek cuisine.

Oregano has the highest ORAC value of the seven super spices. As a historical note, Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, used oregano as an antiseptic (it does have excellent antimicrobial properties) and a cure for stomach and respiratory ailments. Some homeopathic practitioners still use oregano to soothe a sore throat.

A dynamic duo of Mediterannean and
Mexican oregano, available from WhiteflowerFarm.com.

As with all produce, there are different varieties that grow in different areas. Italian, Greek and Mexican oreganos, the most common, are used in similar ways. Mexican oregano, or “hot and spicy oregano,” has a more intense, powerful flavor that pairs well with chili, salsa and other Mexican dishes.

You can buy fresh oregano in the produce section of your market, but it dries out quickly and is often just a few steps removed from what you can buy in a jar. Try growing it in a pot at home. Then, don’t be shy—snip those leaves and get cooking!

While it’s most familiar in Italian dishes (the green, earthy flavor balances the acid of tomatoes), chefs use oregano in egg dishes, salads (a must with a Greek salad!), grilled vegetables, and to season lamb, beef (meatballs!) and poultry. Add some to a lemon-olive oil vinaigrette. Try it on grilled cheese sandwiches and of course, in tomato sauce and on pizza. Add oregano at the beginning of cooking (while browning onions or beef, for example) to allow time for the flavor to blend with other flavors in the dishes.

Culinary history: Manhattan Clam Chowder is actually an Italian clam soup, arriving on these shores with Italian immigrants in the late 1800s. The oregano in the recipe comes from its Italian heritage.

]]> http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/11/tip-of-the-day-herb-pot-of-oregano/feed/ 0 http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/09/tip-of-the-day-a-pot-or-topiary-of-rosemary/ http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/09/tip-of-the-day-a-pot-or-topiary-of-rosemary/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:59:46 +0000 admin http://blog.thenibble.com/?p=11409

We love our pot of rosemary—it’s a beautiful and fragrant houseplant (woodsy, like pine). It’s also a delicious fresh herb, at the ready several times a week to add fresh flavor notes to whatever we’re cooking.

Use it with olive oil and garlic for a delicious focaccia; with lamb, poultry and fish; in pasta and potatoes; in Mediterranean soups and stews.

The sprigs make beautiful garnishes for any course, from eggs to sandwiches and mozzarella kebabs (they can work like toothpicks) to cocktails (think swizzle sticks) and desserts.

Rosemary is also made into beautiful topiary. See a selection here.

Find more favorite seasonings in our Salts & Seasonings Section.

Rosemary for the kitchen. Check out beautiful
rosemary topiary as decorative houseplants.
Photo courtesy USFreeads.com.

]]> http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/09/tip-of-the-day-a-pot-or-topiary-of-rosemary/feed/ 0 http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/08/tip-of-the-day-an-herb-pot-of-dill/ http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/08/tip-of-the-day-an-herb-pot-of-dill/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:48:53 +0000 admin http://blog.thenibble.com/?p=11358

Feathery and fern-like, dill imparts its unique flavor to many dishes. Dill is often called dill weed in order to distinguish it from dill seed, the seed of the dill plant, which is a spice with a flavor similar to caraway.

Dill is a natural with scrambled eggs and omelets (add cheese, especially feta). Add it to tuna, egg, potato and chicken salad. Toss it with cooked vegetables.

In a yogurt and cucumber salad, dill becomes the famous Greek dish, tzatziki.

As a garnish, snip fresh dill onto just about anything. Add it to hot dishes like soup just before serving.

Put a sprig in a martini or a Bloody Mary.

And it’s a beautiful pairing with lamb and poultry.

Dill originated in Eastern Europe and grew wild in the Mediterranean basin and in West Asia. Sprigs of dill were found in the tomb of Amenhotep II and in Roman ruins in Great Britain. The Talmud required that tithes be paid on dill.

Dill. Photo courtesy BaldorFood.com.

But you can purchase it without tax, and grow it as a lovely edible house plant.

]]> http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/08/tip-of-the-day-an-herb-pot-of-dill/feed/ 0 http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/07/tip-of-the-day-a-pot-full-of-chives/ http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/07/tip-of-the-day-a-pot-full-of-chives/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:53:10 +0000 admin http://blog.thenibble.com/?p=11346

While it’s generally easy to find chives at the market, if you have room to grow a pot, they’re the perfect garnish.

Even when they’re not a stated recipe ingredient, chives add color and subtle onion favor to just about any dish: eggs in the morning, salads and soups at lunch and vegetables, poultry, fish, and compound butter at dinner (see a recipe for chive butter).

A sprinkling of tiny snipped chives adds a festive garnish dusting to any plate, and in their “long form,” they can tie asparagus or green beans in bundles, make graceful “X” designs over steaks, chops, fish and poultry. Combine chives with roasted red or yellow peppers or a slice of red tomato to make a tasty color statement. Halve red and yellow grape tomatoes in a vinaigrette with snipped chives for a delicious and low-calorie topping or condiment.

If your pot of chives flowers, consider that a bonus and use them immediately as a glorious garnish.

Chives in flower. Photo by Bura | SXC.

]]> http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/07/tip-of-the-day-a-pot-full-of-chives/feed/ 0 http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/07/recipe-tilapia-with-gingered-rhubarb-sauce/ http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/07/recipe-tilapia-with-gingered-rhubarb-sauce/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:32:05 +0000 admin http://blog.thenibble.com/?p=11332

Fish and rhubarb? Absolutely! Photo
courtesy McCormick.  

The eighth of McCormick’s 2010 flavor trends is a pairing of roasted ginger & rhubarb

]]> http://blog.thenibble.com/2010/03/07/recipe-tilapia-with-gingered-rhubarb-sauce/feed/ 0