Looking for healthy, simple ways to take a dish from bland to brilliant? Do what professional chefs do: Use herbs. We explain the look and taste of a dozen popular varieties and tell you how to best use them in your cooking.
Fresh Herbs
Have you ever wondered why everything tastes so exquisite in fine restaurants? If you’ve talked to anyone in the food industry, you know: lots of butter. (Indeed, I even had a chef confess to me that the dastardly secret to his delicious egg white omelets was heavy cream.)
But there’s another tack you can take at home: liberal use of fresh herbs. They add a sprightly complexity that can’t be matched by dried, and are perhaps the single most transformative ingredient you can use to make your own cooking taste more like the work of a professional chef.
Growing your own herbs in a kitchen box takes little work other than daily watering; fresh herbs are also available year round in grocery stores, generally for under $2. So make it a policy to have at least one kind in the fridge, and see what a difference they can make in your cooking.
Basil
Its Herbal Essence
Lucky is the gardener with a thriving basil plant; these emerald-green satiny leaves emit the perfume of summer. The best basil has an aroma so intense you’ll be able to smell it from a foot away. Any leaves fragrant enough to transmit their sweet aroma to your fingertips when rubbed will be miles tastier than their dried counterparts. Choose intensely coloured, unbruised leaves.
Storing
Keep basil in a plastic bag in the fridge; if you end up with more basil than you know what to do with, blend it with a little water and freeze it in ice cube trays for a shot of summer on a chilly night. Store the cubes in a plastic bag in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Using It in the Kitchen
Basil has the most impact when added to a dish at the last minute, but you can also layer its flavour; add a few whole leaves to a sauce or soup as it simmers. Then follow up with several chopped leaves at the end of cooking. Basil is a natural partner for tomatoes, but don’t just think sauce and pizza; toss whole basil leaves into salads or any other dish containing their red friends. And don’t overlook how delicious basil is with fruit: Add a few sprigs to citrus-ades, or macerate fresh berries with some chopped basil leaves and a little sugar or balsamic vinegar for 30 minutes.
Chives
Their Herbal Essence
These oniony shoots are a boon to any busy cook. When you don’t feel like getting out the cutting board to chop up an onion, you can snip these crunchy greens into a dish with a pair of scissors in no time. Dark green, small chives tend to have more snap and flavour than larger ones. While bright green dried chives have a nice flavour, they will not have that fresh crunch.
Storing
Store in a plastic bag in the fridge and use within 2 days.
Using Them in the Kitchen
There’s a reason sour cream and chives developed a reputation for topping baked potatoes; the combination is delicious. Toss chives with warm boiled new potatoes or sprinkle on top of mashed potatoes for a similarly complementary flavour. But also keep chives in mind for seafood: Snip some over fresh crabmeat, canned tuna or boiled shrimp, then drizzle with a little olive oil and lemon juice, and add plenty of ground black pepper for an irresistible (and mayo-free) salad.
Cilantro
Its Herbal Essence
A somewhat polarising herb (ihatecilantro.com boasts 1,322 members), cilantro is prized in Chinese, Thai, Portuguese and Latin American cooking. Its unique flavor is somewhat suggestive of ginger, basil, freshly mowed grass, citrus and leafy vegetables all rolled into one, and it brings an unexpected, bright accent to raw dishes like salsa, and slow-cooked ones like stews. Until you’re familiar with its look (somewhat like flat-leafed parsley, only smaller and more delicate, with rounder, more lacy leaves), pull off a leaf and sniff or taste it to be sure you have what you’re looking for.
Storing
Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and use within 1 to 2 days.
Using It in the Kitchen
Like basil, cilantro is best fresh added as a finishing touch. A little cilantro and lime added to just about anything—grilled steak or smashed avocado—will conjure a Latin American flair. Stir a handful into fluffy Jasmine brown rice with some chopped peanuts or slivered almonds for a whole-grain side that your family will gobble up. Also try sprinkling some over store-bought salsa or guacamole to make it taste like something your abuelita might have thrown together.
Dill
Its Herbal Essence
Don’t let the delicate fronds fool you: Dill packs a lot of punch and tastes like a cross between celery, parsley and fresh fennel. Choose bright, relatively sturdy dill with no sign of the sliminess that comes from sitting around. Snip off with scissors as needed.
Storing
Store in a plastic bag in the fridge and use within 3 days. To dry, spread snipped fronds on paper towels and leave in a dry, well-ventilated place; keep dried dill in an air-tight jar.
Using It in the Kitchen
Dill flatters poached fish, hardboiled eggs and classic borscht. It also works well in chicken soup, paired with sautéed escarole or spinach and in Mediterranean combinations such as bean salad.
Marjoram
Its Herbal Essence
Though in the same family as oregano, velvety-leafed marjoram is more mellow, with floral notes as well as hints of sage and thyme. Choose flexible, not-too-woody stems that feel dry and downy in the hand.
Storing
Dry any extra by hanging in bunches in a well-ventilated room, then rub leaves off stems and store in an airtight jar.
Using It in the Kitchen
Marjoram can be added at any stage of cooking, and in
fact, contributes a savory depth when simmered at length. Like oregano, marjoram pairs well with meat, but try it also with robust summer vegetables, like tomatoes, eggplant and bell peppers. Or try a marjoram “gremolata” with stews or grilled meats: Combine finely chopped marjoram leaves with fresh garlic and lemon zest and sprinkle over cooked dishes.
Mint
Its Herbal Essence
Anyone who’s tasted fresh mint can remember the shock of its pungency. We’re unprepared, with all our minty candies and chewing gums as children, for how bright and herbal the real thing is.
Storing
Store mint by placing stems in a glass of water in the refrigerator or on the kitchen counter. Dry any extra by hanging bunches upside down in a dry, well-ventilated spot. Use for tea.
Using It in the Kitchen
Brown-stemmed, bumpy-leafed spearmint is remarkably versatile in the savoury kitchen, and spiky-leafed peppermint lends itself well to sweets. Mint is a famous partner for lamb, but it also adds an unexpected freshness to any dish you might use basil for. Try freshly chopped mint in tomato sauce, with rounds of zucchini sautéed in olive oil, with freshly boiled summer peas or over grilled eggplant slices.
Oregano
Its Herbal Essence
If you have trouble telling oregano’s somewhat fuzzy leaves from marjoram’s, that’s because they’re so closely related. In fact, oregano has been called wild marjoram. But oregano is more assertive and has a deeper, more peppery aroma and flavour.
Storing
Oregano doesn’t suffer at all from drying and, in fact, its flavour becomes somewhat concentrated, so you don’t have to use as much as fresh to get the same effect. Dry by hanging bunches in a well-ventilated room, then shake and rub leaves off stems; store in an airtight jar.
Using It in the Kitchen
Think outside the box with oregano. In other words, don’t automatically reach for it when making tomato sauce (a habit much less common in Italy than in the States). Instead, to get a better idea of how lovely and delicate oregano can be, take inspiration from the Greeks, who are mad for the stuff, and sprinkle over fish before roasting, or spread over chicken before grilling then finish with a squeeze of lemon. If you’re a big oregano fan, also seek out Mexican oregano, a dried herb, which is botanically unrelated but adds similar depth to the flavours in Mexican cooking: chiles, lime and cumin.
Parsley
Its Herbal Essence
It once had a bad name in this country, synonymous with a useless garnish that might as well have been made of plastic for the way people would brush it aside rather than eat it. But parsley deserves a seat of honour in the pantheon of herbs for its ability to freshen just about any dish as well as to boost the flavour of any other herb paired with it. Though the flat-leaf has a more mellow flavour than the curly-leaf variety, the latter has been unnecessarily bashed in the past decade. Both are perfectly delicious chopped into a dish as a last-minute addition.
Storing
Store in a plastic bag in the fridge and use within 4 to 5 days.
Using It in the Kitchen
You probably know parsley as the main component in a tabbouleh salad, but play around with it: Toss some, freshly chopped, over a spicy tomato and onion sauce for a classic “arrabbiata,” or pair with chopped garlic and shallot (that irresistible “escargots” combination) to flavour fish.
Rosemary
Its Herbal Essence
Fresh rosemary looks, tastes and smells as if it’s been stripped from a pine tree, along with some citrusy notes. Dried, it’s quite potent in flavour, but can seem less so than fresh because of the powerfully resinous texture of fresh, even after cooking.
Storing
Rosemary keeps in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and dries well. Spread stalks over paper towels in a well-ventilated room. Once dry, strip needles from stems and store in an airtight container.
Using It in the Kitchen
These woody sprigs can, by no stretch of the imagination, be described as subtle. They’re gorgeously assertive, but this means a judicious hand is necessary. When using fresh rosemary on roasted meat or potatoes, either use whole sprigs that can be removed at the end of cooking, or pop needles off stems with your fingers and chop finely. Biting down on a whole needle, even after cooking, can offer a bit too much earthy bitterness.
Rosemary sprigs make excellent skewers: just strip off needles before threading with meat or vegetables. Tuck a sprig into a canister of sugar or coarse salt for use in baking and include a few sprigs in a pot of beans, along with an onion, for a deeply-flavoured, Italian-style bean soup.
Before using, bruise, chop finely or grind to a powder to release the herb’s flavours.
Sage
Its Herbal Essence
These fuzzy, sometimes silvery leaves are beautiful and strongly scented with the high notes of menthol and low notes of the woods. Though familiar—it’s a primary flavouring in Thanksgiving stuffing and some sausages—sage also has an exotic, earthy quality.
Storing
Store sage in a plastic bag or rolled up in a paper towel in the refrigerator. Dry by hanging in bunches in a well-ventilated room. Dried tends to be stronger than fresh, so use sparingly.
Using It in the Kitchen
Go for a flavour punch by tucking several whole leaves between a slice of prosciutto and a fillet of chicken or fish before baking or sautéing for a lighter version of the classic saltimbocca. Sage also brings out a surprising savoury quality in tomato sauce or soup, and complements roasted vegetables that have a natural sweetness—think sweet potatoes, squash or parsnips.
Tarragon
Its Herbal Essence
With its long, slender, pointy green leaves, tarragon has a lovely, gentle combination of licorice and basil plus a pleasant lemony-sour aftertaste that builds as you eat it. Whether purchasing fresh or dried, leaves should be very green and, in the former case, not wilted.
Storing
Store tarragon in the refrigerator in a plastic bag or dry it in bundles in a well-ventilated room.
Using It in the Kitchen
Tarragon lends the signature flavor in classic Béarnaise sauce, but it also cuts the richness beautifully. Mimic that interplay by pairing it with strong flavors: grilled meats, artichokes and asparagus as well as mustard vinaigrettes. It also brings out the sweetness in shellfish.
Thyme
Its Herbal Essence
The foundation of many slow-cooked French dishes, thyme tastes deeply herbal and almost meaty, along with suggestions of clove, pepper, citrus and cedar. The tiny, pointed leaves on slightly woody stems can be rubbed off by sliding fingertips up stems. Alternatively, toss whole stems into simmering or roasting dishes, then remove before serving.
Storing
Keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Dry bunches in a well-ventilated room, then slide leaves off stems and store in an airtight jar.
Using It in the Kitchen
Thyme pairs famously with woodsy, earthy flavours, especially mushrooms. But it also contributes a gorgeously unexpected complexity to sweet foods, like root vegetables, citrus fruits and honey.
Source : weightwatchers.ca
Posted by crazymrsnancy 
Posted by crazymrsnancy 
Posted by crazymrsnancy 
