The Classic Kitchen: Herbs and the Kitchen Garden

 

Today, I am combining two of my great loves: growing my own food and cooking. To me, the two go hand in hand, but I know there are a lot of people out there who don't know where to being with either one of these. So, let's take a little bit of inspiration from the English poet Robert Bridges, and find joy in the making of something. 

I thought that we could begin with herbs, as they are some of the easiest things to grow in a kitchen garden and the most versatile to use in the classic kitchen. Now, there are many herbs that you can grow and some are better suited to some climates more than others. I am going to share with you the ones that I have had a success with in my garden and how I love to use them (either fresh or dried) in my kitchen. Before we begin, I should probably tell you that in our house we cook traditional European food, inspired by English, Italian, Greek, French and Spanish cooking. All with an Australian flair of course! So most of the herbs I will talk about here today are predominant in European cooking, but many are also present in Asian and African cooking too. Now, I know that many of you are in the Northern Hemisphere and fast approaching the winter months, but the beauty of herbs is that they can be grown indoors in pots.

Rosemary:

"Rosemary is for remembrance," Agatha Christie tells us in Sparkling Cyanide. In fact, we wear it on our shirt lapels on the 11th November and the 25th April to remember those soldiers who have fallen in the line of duty. Rosemary, in the garden, is a beautiful plant, tall and majestic with a delicate mauve flower. We have it planted in several different places around our garden as part of the landscaping. Edible landscaping?? Yes, please! It smells divine in the kitchen or anywhere you would like to add it around the house and is renowned for its general all-purpose tonic properties and as an antiseptic. In Banckes' Herbal (1525) rosemary is described thus:

  "if thou be feeble boyle the leaves in cleane water and washe thyself and thou shalt be shiny...smell it oft and it shall keep thee youngly."

Shiny and young? Sounds good to me!

In the kitchen I often pair rosemary with lamb, whether it part of an olive oil, garlic, salt and lemon rub for lamb chops or simply placed on top of the meat as it cooks, its delicious flavour infuses the meat. In terms of vegetables, I love to add rosemary (either fresh or dried) to roast pumpkin and sweet potato. It also works wonderfully well with focaccia, if you are into making your own breads. As I put the focaccia dough into the baking pan, I push little divots into the dough which I then drizzle with olive oil, salt and rosemary. Delicious!

Basil:

Basil was first introduced to Europe from India in ancient times. I always associate basil with Italian cooking. It is a fresh, aromatic herb that pairs perfectly with tomato, and we also plant the two together in the garden. It has a number of medical properties, including being good for insect bites (if you rub the leaves on them). For us, basil is very seasonal so we tend to grow a lot of it and then dry it for the winter months. As I mentioned, it is perfect to add to tomato based sauces, bolognese sauce, or eaten fresh with slices of tomato and mozarella cheese (this is known as a Caprese salad) or sprinkled over a Margherita pizza. Basil is also the key ingredient in pesto, an Italian herb sauce. You simply blend fresh basil (several handfuls) together with pine nuts, grated parmesan cheese, olive oil and garlic and voila! This can be then stirred through pasta, added to vegetables or, if you're a bit crazy like us, eaten as a dip with crackers or bread. It is delightfully fresh and light, yet full of flavour. 

In the garden, basil works great in pots and on windowsills. In fact, I have planted a few seeds in a little window pot and am waiting (im)patiently for it sprout. 

Bay Leaves: 

Just like basil, bay leaves work wonders in Italian cooking and I always add one or two to my bolognese sauce. Bay leaves grow on what is often referred to as a laurel tree. Bay can be hard to grow from seed, but once established it is a sturdy, drought-tolerant plant. For this reason it thrives in warm to hot conditions and tolerates periods of dryness. Think "the Mediterranean" when you think of Bay! In fact, in Greek mythology the water nymph Daphne is believed to have been turned into a laurel tree after being pursued relentlessly by the god Apollo. Out of his love for Daphne, Apollo adopted this ever-green tree as his sacred plant and made a wreath to wear out of its leaves. 

It has been used to flavour food for centuries, and yet is rarely eaten on itself. If you do decide to add some dried bay leaves to your sauces, be sure to remove them before serving because they aren't very nice to crunch into. Along with parsley and thyme, bay leaves are one of the key ingredients in a bouquet garni. This is where the herbs are tied together using an unwaxed kitchen string or twine and used to flavour soup, stews or sauces. Bouquet garni are best made using fresh herbs. 

Parsley:

For us, parsley is another seasonal plant; it dies off in winter so we need to grow and dry as much as we can over the summer months. There are many different types of parsley, but we enjoy flat leafed Italian parsley (sometimes called Continental parsley). Curly leafed parsley is perfect if you want to make tabouli, a Middle Eastern salad using barley, parsley, red onion, tomato and a squeeze of lemon as a dressing. Eating parsley in large amounts like this is a great source of Vitamin C, potassium and iron. 

Fresh, they work perfectly in the bouquet garni and also added to meat dishes, potatoes, either as part of the ingredients or as a garnish. My grandmother used to make a creamy, parsley sauce which she would then add to corned beef, salmon rissoles or pan-fried fish. Dried, it is best to add parsley to the dish while it is cooking, through fresh herbs should be added at the end of cooking, so the heat does not destroy their flavour. 

In the garden, parsley can be quite slow to grow from seed so it is recommended that you soak the seeds in warm water overnight. Sow them in trays or pots first then transplant them later, or else buy them as seedlings. If you live somewhere where it gets very hot, you would do best to plant your parsley where it is shaded from the hot sun.

Mint:

"Near Pylus, towards the east, is a mountain named after Minthe, who, according to myth, became the concubine of Hades, was trampled under foot by Core, and was transformed into garden-mint, the plant which some call Hedyosmos."

                                                                                    Strabo, Geography

Another versatile herb that has its roots (literally and metaphorically) in Greek mythology, mint can be quite rampant if left unchecked in the garden. We love mint so have it covering a wide area of one of our garden beds, but if you don't want it to take over it is best that you plant it in a pot. There are many different types of mint, including Vietnames mint, spearmint and apple mint. In the kitchen it is so versatile and can be used fresh in salads, in sauces (mint sauce and roast lamb - delicious!), soups, drinks and sweets. We often use it to make tea and also mojitos. To make a simple sweet mint tea, simply add some mint leaves to a tea pot, pour over the boiling water and allow to steep. In a mug add honey to taste then pour over the hot mint tea. You can also make this tea and then chill it in the fridge. Again, served with honey and ice it is a delicious, healthy and refreshing drink. 

Oregano:

Sometimes referred to as wild marjoram, oregano is probably my favourite herb. There are different types of both marjoram and oregano, predominantly used in Mediterranean dishes. I love oregano in pasta, added to bolognese sauce, on pizzas or sprinkled over roast potatoes. I rarely use oregano fresh, even though it grows really well here for many months of the year. I just prefer to use it dried. 

In the garden oregano needs a good amount of warmth and sunshine to become established. For us, it grows back each year on its own after dying back in winter. It's good that we don't have to re-sow it. Oregano is also a natural antibiotic for chickens so if you keep them, it's great to toss some to them every now and then or add it to some herb water to keep them healthy. 

Lemon balm:

Lemon balm is fairly new to my kitchen garden, but I love it! Apparently, so do the possums so I need to keep it somewhere out of their reach!! The leaves of the lemon balm look a bit like mint but have such a delicate lemony scent and flavour that you're not likely to confuse the two. I use lemon balm to make an immune boosting tea. I use this recipe here and enjoy drinking it either warm or cold. Even the kids love this drink. What do the classics have to say about lemon balm? Apparently John Evelyn, the English writer and gardener, claimed that:

"Balm is sovereign for the brain, strengthening the memory and powerfully chasing away melancholy."

My book on medicinal herbs also states that the leaves are "good for depression and tension; the leaves are also carminative, so are ideal for anyone who suffers from digestive upsets when worried or anxious." And John Gerard, the English herbalist, claimed that "it comforteth the hart and driveth away all sadnesse" (Herball, 1597). It has also been called an elixir of youth. So basically, an all-round herb worth having in the kitchen garden.

I know there are many more herbs that could be grown but I thought I would start with these favourites of ours. If you have others that you love, be sure to mention them in the comments. Remember that herbs are a great way to start a kitchen garden; they are often hardy, many are perennials and all are versatile in how you use them. I hope that this little introduction to herbs in the Classic Kitchen has inspired you to add some herbs to your home or garden if you can.

Kirsty x