Rosalind Creasy's Recipes from the Garden. Rosalind Creasy
Blue Cheese, and Chives; and Oriana’s Cabbage Salad
• Recipes sure to please: Crab and Asparagus Salad with Fancy Greens and Sorrel Dressing, Tortilla Soup, Pork Shoulder Sandwiches with Tomatillos
• Gifts from the garden: Rosemary Pesto, Basil in Parmesan, and Dried Tomatoes
• Edible flower recipes: Chive Blossom Butter, Lavender Sugar, and Flower Confetti Salad
• Old-fashioned classics with a modern twist: Baked Apples with Dried Cherries and Hazelnuts, Corn Pudding, and Rhubarb-strawberry Cobbler
• Show-off recipes for devoted garden cooks: Red Cherry Peppers Roasted and Stuffed with Mozzarella Cheese and Prosciutto, Deep-fried Squash Blossoms with Chili Cream, and Garden Celebration Salad
• Memorable desserts: Rose Petal Sorbet, Golden Chard Dessert Tart, and Carrot Pie
Even if you don’t have your own garden, you, too, can create most of the recipes in this book. With each passing day, more and more ingredients that were once considered exotic are becoming accessible. No doubt some of these recipes will bring out your adventurous spirit and tempt you to sample from our new global buffet. As you look through the recipes in this book, you will find yourself planning your next meal, as well as next season’s garden—from sorrel and Cinderella pumpkins to cherry peppers and nasturtiums, from melons to fava beans.
As Julia Child would say, “Bon appétit!”—and happy gardening.
Rosalind Creasy
Los Altos, California
herb blends, salad dressings, and more
fresh herb blends
The French are fond of herbs, and starting with a few French classics is a lovely way to begin this book. Bouquet garni and fines herbes are such versatile herb mixes, we’ve all probably used variations without calling them by their official titles.
Bouquet Garni
Bouquet garni is used to infuse a soup, stock, or sauce with complex flavors. Herbs are tied together with aromatic vegetables, added at the beginning of cooking, and removed at the end.
1 small leek, or large leek sliced lengthwise, white part only
1 carrot
2 celery ribs, with greens
1 sprig fresh lovage or 4 tablespoons celery leaves
3 sprigs fresh parsley
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Tie all the ingredients together with clean white string. Leave a tail on the string so you can secure it to the pot and remove it easily.
Fines Herbes
Fines herbes is a mixture of chopped herbs. You will see dried mixes labeled “fines herbes,” but the elusive flavors of the primary herbs—tarragon, parsley, and chervil—fade when dried. The traditional mixture calls for equal amounts of minced fresh parsley, tarragon, chervil, and chives or thyme. This mix is added at the last minute to soups, sauces, vinaigrettes, and savory egg dishes.
Gremolata
Here’s another traditional herb blend—this one from Italy. It adds a “wallop” of flavor when sprinkled over osso buco, roast lamb, baked chicken, and fish; when added to soups before serving; or when stirred into marinades and sauces.
1 large lemon
½ cup (15 g) chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 small garlic clove, minced
⅛ teaspoon salt
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
Grate the lemon peel. Place it in a small bowl, and mix in the parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. It will keep for three days in the refrigerator. Makes ⅔ cup (20 g).
Salad greens can be grown in beds or containers, as shown here.
These are the workhorses of the herb garden: flat-leaf and curly parsley, sage, rosemary, and French and lemon thyme. Use them in butters, pasta sauces, salad dressings, soups, stuffings, meat stews, and in a marinade for roast meats.
Even a garden with only a few herb plants produces enough to share. Before a party, gather up little bouquets of fresh herbs, tie them with raffia, and give them to your host or hostess. Or dry herbs and give them as a bridal shower gift. For a festive presentation, put the dry herbs in a basket and add a great bottle of olive oil, a fancy vinegar, and your favorite salad dressing recipe.
salad herb blends
A basic green salad can be given many faces by changing the selection of fresh herbs. Here are a number of fresh herb salad blends.
Tangy Herb Blend
This blend is wonderful over a large salad of mixed lettuces and tomatoes with a basic vinaigrette.
12 to 16 fresh sorrel leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons fresh burnet leaves
Asian Herb Blend
This herb mix can be used in a salad—try making the vinaigrette with rice wine vinegar and a little soy sauce, and add grilled scallops to the salad. This blend can also be added to a stir-fry at the end of cooking.
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons minced fresh lemongrass
1 tablespoon finely snipped fresh Oriental chives
Classic Mesclun Herb Blend
Mesclun salad mixes are great from the garden and are now available in many markets. Traditionally, fresh herbs are included in the salad. Add the following herb blend to your mesclun next time and see what you think.
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
Fresh Flavor Herb Blend
Another herb variation adds dimension to vegetable salads. Try it on tomatoes and cucumbers, with avocados and root vegetables, or added to risotto.
1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill
2 teaspoons chopped fresh borage
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
Summer Essence Herb Blend
Use the following blend in tomato soup, on pizza, in a green or bean salad, or in just about any dish with lots of tomatoes.
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
dry herb blends
Drying herbs not only preserves the flavor for the off-season but sometimes can enhance the flavor as well. Many of the following blends have many variations under the same name, such as the classic herbes de Provence.
Herbes de Provence
In looking through French reference books, I found many different herb blends that were called herbes de Provence. The ones I gravitated toward were from Jacques Pépin, chef, author, and TV series host, and Antoine Bouterin, chef/owner of Bouterin in New York City. Other chefs add savory or sweet marjoram to the blend. According to Pépin, his blend is equal parts