Plant once, enjoy forever—or at least for years to come. A simple potager, or kitchen garden, is a joy to behold at this time of year. Perennial herbs seem to do especially well on the Cape. I have been growing them, and cooking with them, for almost 50 years now, and at this time of year, their return never fails to delight me.
Last year, in our pandemic shutdown, my herbs were happily poking their little green heads above ground. For some reason, I don’t think I appreciated them then, as much as I do this year. I still have the wooden frame that my dear friend Warren Smith made for me, over 30 years ago. Originally it was designed to organize me, and limit my herb purchases. Plus, I thought it would contain some of the really strong creeping plants, such as mint.
Decades later, I’m perhaps a little more organized (actually, I have just moved a lot of potted herbs to the deck next to the kitchen door), but I see my perennial creepers are doing just that—invading. Mint has appeared where there was thyme, and oregano seems to have become overly friendly with the chives. But that doesn’t mean I value them any less—I just need to get down on my knees and sort them out.
One of the most common questions I am asked is what to grow in a potager? I like to stick to the basics that work for me, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t others to try. We have come an awfully long way from the “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” of the 1960s. Many of the perennials that I grow have gorgeous blooms that go on for weeks, attracting pollinators such as bees, hummingbirds and butterflies.
In addition to using them in my cooking, they make great greenery when arranging bouquets of other spring and summer flowers. Nothing perks up a display of happy zinnias and daisies like the addition of sprigs of mint, oregano, and lemon balm. Most herbs require full sun, which makes the location of my framed garden ideal. Direct sunlight and steady watering, especially toward the end of the summer, mean that my potager remains vibrant through October. Sometimes I can even pick parsley for the stuffing for my Thanksgiving turkey.
Regular readers of this column already know of my affection for edible flowers, especially nasturtiums. I keep them in pots and planters (in as many places as possible), and use them often in salads and for garnishing almost any prepared dish. I am so enamored of them that I will be dedicating an entire column to them soon. So when you shop for herbs for your own kitchen garden, pick up a couple of packages of nasturtium seeds—they sell out quickly!
Back to perennial herbs: the frame for my garden has only (only!!)15 boxes, so there a few of the following herbs that I keep in pots and bring inside in the fall. Lemon verbena is one; considered a tropical plant, it only survives mild winters. It has a strong lemon scent and is delicious added to summer cocktails or drinks like iced tea or lemonade. The leaves can be crushed by hand and steeped in granulated sugar (covered container) for a few weeks. The sugar is good for baking and sweetening sangria.
The other perennial I bring in every year is rosemary. Last year my plant was magnificent, in a large pot that I set near my tomatoes. Over the winter we tried valiantly to keep it alive, but around March it started to turn brown. I played music for it and kept watering it, even though I thought it was probably dying. Now it turns out I was wrong, and it did survive inside. Two days on the deck and it’s beginning to revive, reinforcing my belief that plants do indeed respond to music (and regular watering).
All the others have (fingers crossed) made it through the past several winters. I have two boxes filled with different thyme plants. This plant thrives on poor soil, and with its excess of purple or pink flowers, creeping thyme attracts lots of pollinators. In addition to the creeping variety, I like lemon thyme, variegated thyme and French, or garden thyme.
Then there is one of my all-time favorites: lovage. This old-fashioned herb has staged a comeback in recent years. It’s not a fussy plant, but it packs a wonderful light celery flavor to anything it gets added to. I like to stuff it in chicken before roasting, add it to soups and potato dishes, or just sprinkle it in salad for a little “wow” factor. I think it’s especially good in the deconstructed stuffed chicken recipe that follows.
Oregano is one of the hardiest of all my herbs. Its tiny purple flowers last for weeks, and the stems are beautiful in to a summer bouquet. If I don’t have any fresh basil available, I like to scatter the leaves on top of a pizza. It’s also good in a chimichurri sauce, a nice addition to grilled meats and vegetables that are ubiquitous summer fare. I grow both Greek and Mexican oregano, as well as the Italian variety.
Marjoram is a separate herb when it comes to cooking, but actually all types of marjoram are variations of oregano. Thus my sweet marjoram goes in a box with one of its cousins—they all grow to about two feet, so these plants, plus the lovage, live permanently in the back row of my frame. This is an herb that loses its flavor when it’s cooked, so it works best added to dishes right at the end, or sprinkled over the top of a composed salad.
I don’t think I could cook without parsley. Both curly leaf and flat leaf are in my garden; I use them interchangeably. Garden parsley is a biennial, so I supplement my plants annually with a couple of new ones from the nursery. I don’t grow it from it seed, as it takes forever to germinate: legend says it has to send its roots down to the devil in order to grow, which takes too long for me (and I’d rather not involve the devil in my garden).
Sage is essential to all seasons of cooking, in my opinion. The leaves are fabulous when grilled with swordfish, or added to Jamie Oliver’s classic chicken cooked in milk. I grow both the Old World type as well as variegated sage, and I particularly like pineapple sage for its bright red flowers in the fall. This is another herb I often harvest in November, as its stalks, with flowers, add fragrance and vivid color to fall bouquets.
Lemon balm is a form of mint, and another one of my favorites. The plant is used to attract bees for honey production; often it is grown as an ornamental but its oil is essential to alternative medicine where it is common in aromatherapy. Combined with other herbs, it makes a nice tea, and it also can be added to pesto, giving it an interesting tang.
Mint comes in so many forms these days it’s hard to pick just one to grow. In addition to lemon balm, I like the traditional spearmint and peppermint varieties. It gets its enticing aroma from menthol, the oil in the leaf. Remember that this plant grows vigorously, so be careful where you plant it. Cutting it frequently is one way to keep it under control. I use it most often in yogurt sauces and in summer pasta dishes. Chocolate mint is fun—kids love to taste it, and it works well scattered on fruit salads or desserts.
Lastly I grow chives—or rather, they grow and remind me where they are. Both onion, garden-variety chives (the flowers are perfect for salads and garnishes) and garlic chives live side by side in my potager. The latter variety are also known as Chinese chives—they were first recorded over 5,000 years ago in China. They have a flat, grass-like leaf, not a hollow one as do onion chives. I add both types to salads, egg dishes, compound butters, and soft cheeses—and the tiny white flowers of the garlic chives are pretty in bouquets as well.
That is pretty much the extent of my perennial herb garden. I supplement it with potted annual herbs, and also add a few more perennials in pots (lavender, violas, and Roman chamomile, for example). Of course, there are my edible flowers, about which I shall write very soon. In the meanwhile, while I patiently wait for my nasturtiums to germinate, here are a few recipes that make use of some of these traditional, hardy plants that work so well for me.
White Bean Dip With Fresh Herbs
2 cups cooked white beans
1 clove garlic, minced
4 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil, divided into 1 TBSP and 3 TBSP
1 TBSP chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
Black pepper, to taste
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
3 TBSP fresh parsley
In a medium-sized pan, heat the garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil; sauté for two minutes, and then add the white beans, rosemary, and thyme. Sauté for another 4 to 5 minutes, or until garlic is soft and fragrant.
Transfer the beans to a food processor; add the salt, pepper, lemon, and remaining olive oil. Process on high, stopping every now and then to scrape the bowl down, until mixture is totally creamy and smooth.
Pulse in the fresh parsley and scrape into a serving bowl; drizzle with olive oil before serving with crackers.
Skillet Roasted Chicken With Deconstructed Stuffing
1 (4-lb) whole chicken, butterflied
6 TBSP butter
2 TBSP each: minced fresh sage, lovage, and thyme
1 onion, finely chopped
3 ribs celery, minced
1 loaf of Italian bread
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375°F; cut bread loaf into approximately 1-inch cubes and set them aside. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper; transfer to a plate. Melt 3 TBSP butter in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet; stir in 1 TBSP of each of the herbs and brush this over the chicken on the plate. Melt remaining 3 TBSP butter in the skillet and add onions and celery; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add remaining herbs and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Turn off heat and arrange the bread cubes around the vegetables, pulling the vegetables into the center of the skillet. Place the chicken on top of vegetables and push the bread cubes underneath the bird. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until breasts register 160°F and thighs register 175°F, about 45 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through roasting.
Carefully transfer chicken to a carving board and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Holding skillet handle with a potholder (handle will be hot), stir bread and vegetables to combine, add the broth, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes. Add any accumulated chicken juice from the cavity of the chicken to the skillet and stir to combine; place over low heat and warm the stuffing, uncovered, for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let sit while carving chicken; transfer chicken to carving board, carve, and place the pieces over the stuffing to serve, family-style.
Chimichurri
“A herbaceous and vinegary sauce from Argentina that’s classically paired with grilled meats, especially beef, but its uses don’t end there. You can combine it with a dollop of mayonnaise to marinate chicken cutlets. (That same mayo-and-chimichurri mixture makes an excellent potato salad dressing, or toss it with sliced scallions and grilled or boiled corn cut from the cob.) Combine chimichurri with equal parts olive oil to use as a marinade and dressing for grilled vegetables. Add a few crushed cloves of garlic to that same mixture, brush it on a split ciabatta or baguette, and grill or broil it for an oregano-packed take on garlic bread. It may be tempting to think of a chimichurri as a sort of Argentine parallel to Italian pesto, but it is not: While pesto is made in a mortar and pestle and emulsified into a creamy mixture with a base mostly comprised of olive oil, chimichurri is made with chopped dried herbs that are steeped in hot salty water (the brine is called salmuera) and vinegar, with less olive oil added. Its texture comes from the dried herbs rehydrating in salt water. Chimichurri can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks; it will lose its bright green color, but it will improve in flavor with time.
¼ cup dried oregano
1 tsp sweet paprika
½ tsp each: red pepper flakes (more or less to taste) and ground cumin
½ cup hot water
Kosher salt
¼ cup red wine vinegar
8 medium garlic cloves
2 TBSP olive oil (it need not be extra-virgin, but it can be), plus more as needed
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves, finely minced
1 tightly packed cup fresh parsley leaves, finely minced
Freshly ground black pepper
Combine oregano, paprika, red-pepper flakes and cumin, if using, in a large bowl. Add hot water and a big pinch of salt and stir with a fork; add vinegar and stir to combine. Smash garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle to form a rough paste, then drizzle in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and work the garlic and oil around the mortar until it emulsifies and no loose oil remains. Scrape this garlic mixture into the bowl with the oregano mixture and stir to combine. (Alternatively, smash garlic cloves on a cutting board with the flat side of a chef’s knife. Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt, then use the side of your knife to scrape the mixture back and forth until a paste forms. Drizzle a little olive oil over the paste and work it in with the side of the knife. Repeat until you’ve added about a tablespoon of olive oil, then scrape the mixture up and transfer it to the bowl with the oregano mixture, add the remaining olive oil, and stir to combine.) Add minced fresh oregano and parsley and stir to combine. Set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or in the refrigerator overnight, to allow the dried oregano to rehydrate and the flavors and texture to develop. Stir vigorously before tasting, then adjust seasoning with salt and fresh black pepper. Unused chimichurri can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several weeks.
May 13, 2021 at 11:30PM
https://ift.tt/3w0Ym4E
Here's Why Everyone Should Have An Herb Garden - CapeNews.net
https://ift.tt/3eCf9lu
Herb
No comments:
Post a Comment