COOKING WITH HERBS

Herbs add zest to almost all cooked and uncooked dishes. If your experience cooking with herbs involves only using commercially available dried herbs, the use of fresh homegrown herbs will revolutionize your recipes.

Use three to four times the amount of fresh as dried herbs called for in a recipe, depending on the flavor desired. Activate the flavor of dried herbs by soaking them for up to fifteen minutes in stocks, lemon juice or dressings or sautéing them gently in butter or oil before adding to recipes. To achieve the fullest aroma from fresh leaves, rub them between your hands before adding them to recipes.

Add the stronger flavored herbs with some restraint during the last ten minutes of soups and stews; the lighter, milder tasting herbs can be added at the last minutes. Rub herbs into meat and chicken before cooking. Season vegetables, fish, eggs and bread with herb butter. For soups, add one well-chosen fresh herb for contrast in flavor and color right before serving. Herb seasoning blends make a good substitute for salt in low-sodium diets.

Many herb flowers are edible. They make beautiful additions to the table, adding color and perfume to your recipes.

Classic herb combinations are often called for in recipe ingredient lists. Bouquet garni is fresh or dried springs of thyme, marjoram, bay laurel, and parsley, among other aromatic herbs, wrapped or tied in bundles and used in long-simmering foods. Remove bouquet before serving.

Fines herbes is a combination of chervil, parsley, thyme, and tarragon, freshly minced and stirred into or sprinkled on top of cold dishes. Add fines herbes to recipes at the very last minute of cooking. Use them with eggs, sautés, and cheese sauces.

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