I always chuckle when I read a recipe that asks me to use some fraction of a teaspoon of an herb. My daily cooking (and my cookbooks) lean heavily on the prodigious use of fresh herbs, often measured by the quarter-cup and half-cup, but sometimes even multiple whole cups. Using fresh herbs in these kinds of quantities produces dishes might seem counterintuitive or even nutty, but the results, more often than not, are lively, vibrant, and incredibly satisfying. The reigning heavyweight champ of the herb world is Jerry Traunfeld — do yourself a favor and check out his books sometime.
Herbs used in large quantities create taste revelations that aren’t easily forgotten; can you remember the first time you tasted basil-based pesto? I can — and I recall being stunned at how good something could taste. I couldn’t get over it. I ate nothing but pesto for about two weeks!
Have you ever tried fresh oregano leaves in quantity? Imagine the following oregano pesto:
- 3 cups fresh oregano leaves, stripped from their stems
- 1 teaspoon garlic confit
- 1/4 cup cashews, slightly browned in a skillet (no oil)
- 1/2 cup very fruity extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt
- plenty of freshly ground pepper and sea salt
Blend all of the above in a blender or food processor, and spoon it over hot pasta of your choice. It’s incredible! The yogurt makes the whole thing creamy and light, and the cashews give it a toasty depth.
Tarragon is another fresh herb that I love to use in large quantities. Saute some onions (or shallots, or scallions, or a combo) in olive oil until soft, then transfer to a blender. To that add at least a cup of fresh tarragon leaves and whir it around. Add this lovely green goo to chicken thighs, and bake them in a 375 oven for 45 minutes or so. Or add the same “pesto” to a head of chopped cauliflower, and bake that.
Using fresh herbs by the fistful is an easy, healthy way to inject serious flavor into your cooking. And if anyone reading this has a favorite way to use at least a cup of some fresh herb, I’d love to hear about it!
(photo credit: scoutress)
We rarely see basil in the market, but we grow tulsi – a basil relative & sacred Indian plant – in the backyard. I make pesto from this, with walnuts; when anyone in the house has a cold, we use masses of it for tea, with lots of ginger, black pepper and honey. We make chappati mixed with fenugreek leaves, and cook it separately as a green — don’t know whether it’s considered a herb or a vegetable.
I made your garlic confit yesterday — lovely! The flavor was so delicate that I didn’t think it was finished cooking, until I saw how buttery-soft the cloves had become.
i’ll call this herb jam (why not). it’s great over anything: potatoes, tofu, eggs, toast.
steam a bunch-or-more of herbs (i’ve used mostly parsley and basil) and almost a pound of tender spinach, about a half cup each of celery leaves and cilantro, and 4 halved cloves of garlic until it’s all tender (can steam up to 15-20min).
pluck out the garlic, and chop separately. squeeze the moisture out of the greens and chop fine.
heat oil in a pan and add the garlic, chopped olives of choice, and pinches of spices like cayenne and cumin until you can smell it. add the greens and cook another 10 minutes or so.
let it cool and season with salt, lemon, and olive oil.
the lemon and olives help to brighten the flavor considerably (maybe try flavored vinegars or capers or pickled plum next time?).