by Micky Ellenbecker, Purchasing Assistant
Growing up, I was extremely fortunate to have parents who cooked all of our meals from scratch, but my parents were two different kinds of cooks. My father was the primary cook and would follow a recipe to the T, while my mother only cooked occasionally and tended toward loosely following recipes or even just making something up completely. My mother's version of cooking drove me a little crazy and there are a few creations she’ll never live down, but who did I end up cooking like? That’s right, my mother. It didn’t happen overnight. I definitely started out following recipes as written, but with more experience I became more confident (or maybe less concerned with messing it up) and started experimenting more. When it comes to cooking with fresh herbs, the possibilities are endless when you stray away from a written recipe. Once you start including fresh herbs in your circle of basic ingredients, it brings your meals to the next level. They can revive an old standby, be the pop of flavor added as a garnish to your soup, or simply make a green salad that much more flavorful.
Soft herbs vs. woody herbs
Let me define two different categories of herbs. You’ve got your “soft herbs” and “woody herbs.” Soft herbs include basil, chives, dill, parsley, cilantro, and mint. These all impart a bright delicious flavor without any cooking. Woody herbs include thyme, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and oregano, and they’ll impart the most flavor when the oils are released during cooking. These are not hard and fast rules, but a general guide.
Swapping dried for fresh
One’s first step may be to swap out dried herbs for fresh herbs in one of your favorite recipes. There are conversion charts available online, but the general rule is to use two to three times the volume of fresh herbs. I personally like to be very generous with fresh herbs. They add so much flavor that they become more like a main ingredient, like a leafy vegetable, rather than just seasoning.
Adding herbs
Let’s say you’ve tried subbing in some fresh herbs in scripted recipes, but what do you do with the leftover herbs? A great vehicle is a green salad. Chopped soft herbs can easily be added to any basic salad without disappointment! Some other ideas:
• Add fresh dill, oregano, parsley, and/or mint to a Greek salad for maximum flavor.
• Add fresh cilantro, mint, and/or parsley to carrot slaw for a quick side dish.
• Garnish roasted carrots with feta, mint, and dill.
• Make a homemade ranch salad dressing with chives, parsley, and dill.
• Add just about any fresh herb to scramble eggs to impart new flavors on an old standard.
• Add parsley, mint, or cilantro to your next green smoothie.
• Pesto doesn’t have to be limited to using just basil.
• Try the traditional Italian garnish gremolata, consisting of minced parsley, lemon zest, and garlic, or experiment with a new version, like mint, orange zest, and chives.
• Experiment with different herbs other than or in addition to cilantro in your guacamole.
• Muddle up basil or mint for sun tea, cocktails and mocktails.
• Add basil, parsley, and chives to pasta salad.
• Try to move beyond sage as a flavor only for Thanksgiving and make Butternut, Sage, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas or Roasted Chicken with Sage and Orange.
Herbs + fat = delish
I reached out to our fresh herb aficionado, David Bachhuber of Lovefood, to find out what wisdom he had to impart on the uses of herbs. Three words: Herbs + Fat = Delish. It’s that simple! David suggests infusing oil with herbs for salad dressing or for cooking, or making herb butters. His 10-year old daughter, Soleia, has even mastered her technique of grinding up herbs with a mortar and pestle, mixing them in with some oil, and letting them sit for a bit. Then they drizzle the oil over her favorite American fries-style potatoes before roasting them in the oven. So simple, yet so tasty, and your kids can even help!
Just have fun with it and don’t be afraid to experiment! For example, I just made quesadillas and was out of cilantro, but I had mint and chives and threw those in instead. It was unconventional, but it still tasted good because it brought such fresh flavors to the meal.