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A bit of red and green garnish turns almost anything into holiday fare.
Since so many of our foods are white or beige, they can use a colorful lift.
While a baked brie topped with cranberry relish and rosemary is a holiday staple in our home, we love garnishing other foods with crisp, flash-fried herbs.
Try it: You’ll discover a colorful, flavorful garnish that can be added to just about everything.
And, it takes less than a minute to cook the cleaned herbs.
FLASHED FRIED HERBS
Basil, parsley and sage can be flash-fried as a tasty garnish. Combine them with a red garnish for a Christmas effect.
Ingredients
1 bunch fresh herbs
1/4 cup cooking oil
Salt
Preparation
1. WASH, pat dry and pinch the leaves from the stems.
2. HEAT the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, fry 6–8 basil or sage leaves, or equivalent parsley, at a time until crisp, 2–3 seconds.
3. TRANSFER the herbs to a paper-towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with coarse salt and set aside until ready to use.
DON’T WANT TO FRY?
You can use the herbs in their raw state, or try these green garnishes:
Arugula
Baby spinach
Bell peppers, diced
Green beans, sliced
Other herbs: cilantro, dill, mint
Pickles, chopped
Scallion leaves, sliced or chopped
Snow peas or sugar snap peas, sliced
Watercress
RED GARNISHES
Beets, sliced or diced
Bell peppers, diced
Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Cranberry relish
Pomegranate arils
Red caviar
Red condiments, e.g. chile sauce
Red grapes, sliced or diced
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[1] A white soup or any white food—goat cheese, chicken breasts, fish, mashed potatoes, noodles, grains—gets a lift from pomegranate arils and fried herbs. Here, parsley is flash-fried (photo courtesy Chef Adrianne).
[2] Cut pita rounds into triangle “trees,” and add a wood toothpick for the stem. Top with hummus and garnish with a small dice of red and green bell pepper. For more color, buy green hummus, or blend thawed green peas into regular hummus (photo courtesy Tribe Hummus | Facebook).
[3] Raw sea scallops are a favorite of ours. Serve them atop a slice of watermelon radish, or plate them as a first course as shown. Garnish with a bead of salmon caviar or an dab of chile sauce, plus a leaf of parsley (photo courtesy HMF | The Breakers).
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