The Herb Kitchen E-Book

Ryland Peters & Small

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 113

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

This fresh collection of over 50 deliciously easy recipes for cooking with herbs, includes zingy sauces, salsas and dressings to substantial salads, main plates, sweet things and baking. Herbs have been valued for thousands of years for their aromatic and health-giving qualities as well as culinary uses. Today they bring a fresh pop of colour to any kitchen corner, add interest to window boxes or thrive as a sweet-smelling addition to any garden. From mint to marjoram, herbs are undoubtedly the easiest way to add instant vibrancy, interest and brightness to your everyday cooking. This new collection celebrates kitchen herbs in all their beauty and variety – from basil and parsley to sage and thyme – and outlines the distinctive qualities of each herb, from scent to texture and taste, and features over 50 deliciously easy recipes for making the most of them in your cooking. Also included are tips of growing your own herbs and how to store shop-bought herbs to avoid waste, as well as interesting snippets of folklore and fact relating to this fascinating family of edible plants.  

Leseprobe

The HERB Kitchen

The HERB Kitchen

RECIPES FOR ENJOYING & USING HERBS IN YOUR COOKING

Senior Designer Toni Kay

Senior Editor Abi Waters

Production Manager Gordana Simakovic

Creative Director Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Indexer Vanessa Bird

First published in 2025 by Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields, London

WC1R 4BW

and

1452 Davis Bugg Road Warrenton, NC 27589

www.rylandpeters.com

email: [email protected]

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text © Caroline Artiss, Julia Charles, Megan Davies, Ursula Ferrigno, Nicola Graimes, Tori Haschka, Kathy Kordalis, Jenny Linford, Uyen Luu, Hannah Miles, Orlando Murrin, Louise Pickford, Barbara Segall and Ryland Peters & Small 2025 Design and commissioned photography © Ryland Peters & Small 2025

Printed in China.

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-78879-687-3

E-ISBN: 978-1-78879-706-1

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

US Library of Congress cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

The authorised representative in the EEA is Authorised Rep Compliance Ltd., Ground Floor, 71 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, D02 P593, Ireland www.arccompliance.com

NOTES

• All spoon measurements are level unless otherwise specified.

• All herbs used are fresh unless otherwise specified.

• All eggs are medium (UK) or large (US), unless specified as large, in which case US extra-large should be used. Uncooked or partially cooked eggs should not be served to the very old, frail, young children, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems.

• When a recipe calls for cling film/plastic wrap, you can substitute for beeswax wraps, silicone stretch lids or compostable baking paper for greater sustainability.

• When a recipe calls for the grated zest of citrus fruit, buy unwaxed fruit and wash well before using.

• Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperatures. If using a fan-assisted oven, adjust temperatures according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Contents

Introduction

THE HERBS

Basil • Bay

Chamomile • Chervil

Chives & Garlic Chives,Coriander

Dill • Fennel • Garlic

Lavender • Lemon Balm

Lovage • Mint

Oregano or Marjoram

Parsley & Rosemary • Sage

Sorrel • Tarragon • Thyme

How to Grow Herbs

SAUCES & DRESSINGS

SALADS, SOUPS & LIGHT PLATES

MAIN DISHES

SWEET THINGS & DRINKS

Index

Credits

Introduction

Herbs have been valued for thousands of years for their aromatic and health-giving qualities as well as culinary uses. Today they bring a fresh pop of colour to any kitchen corner, add interest to window boxes or thrive as a sweet-smelling addition to any garden. From mint to marjoram, herbs are undoubtedly the easiest way to add instant vibrancy, interest and brightness to your everyday cooking.

This fresh collection of deliciously easy recipes for cooking with herbs, includes zingy sauces, salsas and dressings, plus substantial salads, soups, main plates, sweet things and baking. The recipes celebrate herbs in all their beauty and variety – from sorrel and sage to tarragon and thyme – helping you make the most of them in your cooking.

A herb glossary is included to help you get to know each individual herb, outlining the distinctive qualities, from scent to texture and taste. Additionally, information on how to grow your own herbs is also featured, with step-by-step instructions and advice on how to get the best from your herb garden. Of course, using shop-bought herbs in these recipes will also work beautifully, so don't let any lack of green fingers hamper your cooking or stop you from selecting certain herbs to use in the kitchen.

Scattered throughout the wonderful recipes are interesting snippets of folklore and fact relating to this fascinating family of edible plants. Dive in to this enticing collection and elevate your knowledge of herbs and how to use them to create delicious, herb-focussed dishes.

THE HERBS

With an ancient record in folklore and medicinal history, basil is also a highly distinctive culinary herb, especially in Asian, French and Italian cuisines.

Basil

Ocimum basilicum

Best used freshly picked, basil can also be frozen in leaf form or in made-up sauces. It combines well with tomatoes for a salad and is the main ingredient of pesto sauce for pasta. It adds piquancy to pizzas and to chicken and lamb dishes.

There are at least 13 different types of basil, varying in foliage, colour, shape, texture and aroma. Flavours range from aniseed to cinnamon and the sweet, spicy, clove-like scent of sweet basil. Basil can grow up to 45 cm (18 in).

O. basilicum ‘Purpurascens’ has purple leaves and pinkish flowers. O. basilicum ‘Citriodorum’ is lemon scented with green leaves and white flowers. Anise-flavoured basil has pale pink flowers and a strong taste of aniseed. The tiny leaves of Greek basil, which grows in the shape of a small bush, offer the fullest flavour.

Plant basil in a herb garden or in containers in late summer, when there is no danger of frost or severely cold weather. In the herb garden grow it in a sheltered sunny site in light well-drained soil. If grown in a container, basil should be kept well watered in dry conditions.

Basil has traditional uses as a digestive aid and herbal tonic, as well as in aromatherapy.

Bay

Laurus nobilis

Glossy dark-green bay leaves are part of the bouquet garni, the traditional herb bundle used to add flavour to savoury dishes. Bay is also a good flavouring for sweet dishes, particularly rice puddings and other milk desserts; its delicate spiciness can be best enjoyed if the milk is simmered gently with the bay leaf before the other ingredients are added.

An evergreen tree with shiny aromatic, spicy leaves, small yellow flowers and black berries, bay can grow to 8 m (26 ft) but is generally slow-growing, and in containers its height is controlled. It can be clipped into geometric shapes or grown as an elegant ornamental standard.

Shaped bay trees in pots are also useful in herb gardens as focal points to mark the meeting of paths or to emphasize a change of height.

Buy young plants and plant them in spring or autumn in rich, well-drained soil. Although bay will tolerate light shade, it prefers full sun. Protect young plants and plants in containers from frost with straw bales, bubble wrap or hessian windbreaks. Cut back any frost-damaged stems in spring. Pick leaves as needed throughout the year.

L. nobilis ‘Aurea’ has golden leaves and makes an attractive colour contrast in the herb garden. L. nobilis ‘Angustifolia’, the willowleaf bay, is also attractive as a container plant and in the garden.

Infusions made from bay leaves have been used to stimulate appetite or as an aid to digestion.

Bay leaves were the foliage used in wreaths to garland winners and achievers in classical Greece and Rome.

Chamomile

Chamaemelum nobile

This hardy evergreen perennial is distinguished by flowers that resemble daisies, finely cut foliage – and a perfume that takes your breath away. Chamomile is widely used in cosmetics, soothing skin creams and other medications. Its dried flowers can be steeped in hot water to make a relaxing tisane, and it can be used in other sweet recipes. The creeping, non-flowering variety of chamomile tolerates light traffic, making it suitable for covering a short length of path or the ground under a bench.

Grow chamomile in light well-drained soil in full sun. It can reach 20 cm (8 in) in height. Chamomile paths should be kept weed-free or the weeds will overwhelm the chamomile plants, eventually destroying the fragrant pathway.

Non-flowering lawn chamomile, C. nobile ‘Treneague’, which has fern-like leaves, is used to create scented lawns and paths. Upright chamomile, which has daisy-like blooms, is grown in the border for its flowers, which can be used fresh or dried. The double-flowered form, C. nobile ‘Flore Pleno’, is an attractive addition to the garden, and its flowers are used to make chamomile tea.

The flowers of upright chamomile have medicinal and cosmetic uses in facial steam baths and hair rinses; they also bring a soothing and relaxing fragrance to a bath. Dried flowers and leaves of chamomile can be added to potpourri.

A pineapple-like scent floats in the air when the leaves are crushed underfoot or gently squeezed between the fingers.

Chervil is highly prized in France, where it is often used in omelettes/omelets and as a component of the traditional fines herbes mixture.

Chervil

Anthriscus cerefolium

A refreshing salad herb, chervil is also useful as a feathery and flavoursome garnish. Its light taste combines well with eggs, poultry and soft cheese. Although best used fresh, the leaves can be preserved by being frozen in ice-cube containers.

Chervil is a hardy annual with pretty fern-like leaves and small white flowers in late summer. It grows up to 60 cm (23 in), thriving in a shady site in light well-drained soil. If planted as an inter-row crop, chervil takes advantage of shade from other row-crop plants. It dislikes root disturbance, so sow it direct into the growing site. Water plants well or they will bolt, flowering and setting seed too quickly, and you will lose flavoursome foliage. Pick the leaves through the summer.

Chervil plants can be grown indoors on a shady north-facing windowsill, but indoor plants will lack the vigour and flavour of plants grown outdoors. You can also sow seed in late summer for a winter crop, which will need some protection through the winter.

Rich in vitamins, chervil has traditionally been used as a treatment for digestive and circulatory disorders.

Chives and Garlic Chives

Allium schoenoprasum and A. tuberosum

Chives have spiky green leaves and mauve flowers, while garlic chives, or Chinese chives, have garlic flavour in their strappy leaves and white starry flowers that appear in late summer. The chopped leaves of both types combine well with egg dishes and are useful for garnishes and in salads. Chives are also among the ingredients of the fines herbes mixture.

With their attractive flowers and good foliage, chives fit well into the flower garden. They make an informal edging for part of a kitchen garden and, if planted into spaces in paving, will eventually spread to make their own shapely patterns in the paving gaps.

The spiky leaves shoot from the underground mini-bulbs in spring. They grow to about 30 cm (12 in) but can be harvested once they are about 10 cm (4 in) above ground. Either pull leaves from the clump or cut off a handful with a pair of sharp scissors.

In late spring even spikier shoots carrying the flower buds start to appear. Chive flowers come in a range of pinky-mauve tones, as well as in a new form that is green to white. The flower heads, made up of numerous tiny flowers, are also edible and look attractive in salads. They are at their juicy best just as the buds begin to open.

Chives grow well in containers but will need extra attention to prevent them from drying out. Young plants can be kept on a windowsill or planted out in the sunniest site in the garden.

Coriander/cilantro

Coriandrum sativum

A strongly aromatic, short-lived annual, coriander is grown for its seeds and for its deeply cut, parsley-like leaves that bring spice and flavour to desserts and savoury dishes alike. It bears a profusion of tiny white flowers. For the full effect of their flavour to be appreciated, coriander leaves should be added towards the end of the cooking time.

The pinkish-white flowers that appear from early summer are followed by bead-like seeds, which are used in baking cakes and biscuits as well as in curries, chutneys and pickles. The leaves are added to stews and salads or used as a garnish. Plants grow to a height of about 60 cm (24 in).

In seed catalogues some varieties of coriander may be described as 'slow to bolt’, which means they will produce abundant well-flavoured foliage before they flower and set seed. To make sure you have a continuity of leaves, sow a little and often.

Coriander grows well in a sunny spot in light well-drained soil. It needs a long hot summer for best seed production. Sow seeds in spring into the growing site and cover them with a cloche until established. Young plants should be kept well-watered and free of weeds. Pick young leaves before the mature ferny leaves develop.

Seeds tend to fall before they can be harvested, so the flower heads need to be picked before the seeds are fully ripe. Cover the flower heads and store them in a warm, dry, airy place so that the seeds can ripen. Collect and store the seeds in an airtight jar.

Chives (left) bring a hint of onion to garnishes and salads, while coriander/cilantro (right) adds piquancy to curries and other hot dishes.

Dill

Anethum graveolens

An excellent partner for fish in any form, hot or cold, dill is particularly renowned as an ingredient of the Scandinavian marinated-salmon dish gravadlax. Its fresh young leaves bring spice to salads, egg dishes and soups. The seeds, together with the flower heads, are used in pickles, preserves and chutneys. They are tasty with rice and cabbage, or as a flavouring for savoury bread, and are also used ground in curries.

A hardy annual with aromatic feathery leaves and clusters of yellow flowers in midsummer, dill grows to between 60 cm (2 ft) and 150 cm (5 ft), depending on variety. The seed needs well-drained soil, full sun and a sheltered site. Sow in the herb garden in spring, once the soil has warmed up. Since dill grows tall, it is not ideal in containers, but they can be useful for a first sowing.