Nothing says summer more than fresh herbs from your garden. And, nothing adds to the color, flavor and presentation impact   of a dish like fresh herbs. It doesn’t matter if you are cooking for two or appetizers for twenty, make sure you add fresh herbs to your dish.

I always have a supply of herbs on hand. Summertime is great as many herbs are perennials that come back year after year and are plentiful.

 

(Maya garding the garden with fennel, sage and oregano in the background)

We even keep a few herbs growing in the windowsill through the winter. Whenever we entertain, I keep jarfuls of 2 or 3 herbs next to my prep area for use and a mixture of chopped herbs in a container as part of my mise en place.

(herbs on the windowsill)

I do have a confession to make, I haven’t always been a fresh herb fan. As a child I remember begging my mother not to ruin my plate of soup with parsley. My sister tells the story of taking her daughter Emily to a special restaurants and having her insist to the waiter that she didn’t want any green stuff on her food. I am proud to say that even the picky Emily recently sent me a picture of her grilled pizza creation with green stuff – fresh basil. Yeah Emily!

Some of the major herbs consist of:

Basil – There are numerous kinds of basil including spicy and sweet basil. Basil adds a unique flavor and character to many dishes. It’s usually mixed with tomatoes and other vegetables in French food. It also adds zest to pasta dishes and other delicacies.

 

French Tarragon – This smells like anise. It’s widely used in French seafood dishes. It blends well with the rich taste of fish, shrimp and other seafood, while adding a distinct and memorable flavor that makes the dish even more enticing.

Thyme – Thyme comes in many flavors and is a very versatile herb. It can add zesty flavor to a wide variety of stews, meats, soups, seafood, dressings, sauces and more. It can also be used in marinating meats and seafood so that when you cook them, it brings out the natural flavor of the dish while infusing its own distinct taste.

 

Sage – Sage has been around since the Roman times and is unique in that it’s one of the few herbs whose flavor gets stronger as it dries further. Its subtle but tasty flavor is great for salad dressings, soups and sauces. It’s best to add sage at the final stage of cooking.

 

Mint – Fresh mint adds that cool and refreshing flavor to any dish. Even water is made even better if you add some mint leaves.

Chives– Chives are an important herb in the French kitchen and they have the most delicate onion flavor which make it a wonderful seasoning for many dishes.

Fennel – Fennel is a beautiful tall and graceful perennial herb with fine feathery green leaves and bright yellow flowers. It looks very much like dill but the flavor is a sweet anise which is very different.

Parsley – All varieties of parsley are hardy biennials but mostly treated as annuals. Of course no herb garden would be complete without its parsley! The two most popular ones are the curly leaf parsley and the French or the flat leaf parsley which undoubtedly has the better flavor.

Oregano– Oregano is a culinary herb, used for the flavor of its leaves, which can be more flavorful when dried than fresh. Oregano’s most prominent modern use is as the staple herb of Italian-American cuisine. Its popularity in the U.S. began when soldiers returning from World War II brought back with them a taste for the “pizza herb”, which had probably been eaten in southern Italy for centuries.^[13] There, it is most frequently used with roasted, fried, or grilled vegetables, meat, and fish. Oregano combines well with spicy foods popular in southern Italy. It is less commonly used in the north of the country, as marjoram generally is preferred.

No matter what you are making. No matter what you are cooking for. Fresh herbs will make it better!

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