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Newsletter and recipe archive
AN HERB GARDEN After a brief and furious winter, spring came suddenly here. In the Ojai valley, the world turns green in a week, and softens overnight. When it happens, I want to be out walking in it, breathing the perfumed air, and looking at the green hills - a green so intense that it shocks the eye. I also want to taste it. I want that same green freshness in my food, and there is no better way to get it than with fresh herbs. To get flavor that explodes in your mouth, fresh herbs are the ticket. The best way to keep them in ready supply is to have an herb garden - and it's not complicated, folks! For something that returns so much, herbs are incredibly easy to grow. They're weeds, really. In Provence, we walked on lawns of them, crushing them under our sandals and releasing their pungent fragrances into the hot air. If you don't already have an herb garden, you can start small and simple. At this time of year, herbs are available everywhere. They're plentiful in nurseries, they're all over the farmers markets, and sometimes you can pick them up in front of the supermarket. You can get tiny plants in pots, or decorative combinations already set out in terra cotta planters. Give in. Take home a few herbs and plant them in a sunny patch of your back yard, near the kitchen door if possible. If you don't have a yard, line up a few pots on the porch or on the steps, or in a window box. One day, you may have a beautiful herb garden laid out in a classic knot pattern - but you don't need much to get started. Last week I bought basil, thyme, parsley, oregano, tarragon and chives. I already have rosemary and sage growing in huge shrubs along the borders of my garden. My mint will take over any space it can find; keeping it under control is the only problem - I certainly don't need to buy more. But I did pick up some dill, fennel, and cilantro, which I haven't had in the garden before. I'll see how they work out. The point is, what have I got to lose? The benefits of an herb garden are immediate. You'll snip chives into your salad or scrambled eggs, chop fresh basil into your tomatoes for bruschetta, toss steamed new potatoes with parsley, or roll them in olive oil, rosemary and thyme to roast them. You'll make pesto. You'll put fresh cilantro on top of squash soup, or crisp-fried sage leaves on your risotto. All these things will be easy. You'll do them spontaneously - no planning required - because the herbs will always be there, always perfectly fresh. It's amazing how your cooking will expand and improve when you have easy access to herbs. I've developed a taste for certain flavors, and I find that I now use fresh herbs in generous quantities, not merely as an accent. I love pasta tossed with olive oil, sautéed garlic, handfuls of parsley and basil, and a bit of rosemary and thyme. I put entire bunches of cilantro into my green soups. I mix fresh white cheese with mounds of chopped chives and dill. Most of this is quick, simple cooking - the kind of rustic food we eat every day. But Easter is coming, and that calls for the taste of spring in a slightly more elaborate meal. I've been trying out roulades, and this month in "New Recipes" I'm featuring a roulade that can be served either hot or cold. The egg layer is made with spinach, lots of dill, and some garlic and oregano. Then it's wrapped around a filling of fresh white cheese and asparagus. It looks beautiful when it's cut in slices - a spiraling mosaic. I'm planning to serve my roulade as part of an Easter brunch, with a salad of new potatoes flavored with feta cheese, oregano and chives, and some steamed carrots flecked with cilantro, among other things. Once I go out into the herb garden, I probably won't be able to stop myself, so I expect we'll have an herb-enhanced tomato pesto to eat with olives and garlic crostini (a nice appetizer with mimosas), and there will be mint leaves in the fruit salad. And because Easter comes late this year, the first roses will be blooming, so I'll be able to dress my table with bowls of garden roses mixed with branches of mint and early lavender. There's no end to the pleasure of herbs. |