Fresh herbs are superior to dried or frozen ones. They are attractive
as garnishes, and the volatile oils are most pronounced in newly
gathered herbs, picked before the plants reach the flowering stage and
snipped in the morning as soon as the dew has left them. If you have a
garden, you can devote a small plot to a selection of your favourite
herbs, or plan a decorative herb garden on the lines of an Elizabethan
geometric design.
You can also grow herbs in pots on a patio or balcony or on a sunny
windowsill. With good light, parsley and chervil, basil and chives,
rosemary, bay and tthyme can be grown indoors.
Basil
Originally from the Far East and offered in sacred rites to Krishna and
Vishnu, basil takes its name from the Greek word basilikon, meaning
kingly. It is an annual herb, but really needs Mediterranean
conditions. In Britain it can be sown indoors and planted out at the
end of May or sown where it is to grow at the same time. Basil needs
good, well-drained soil, in the sun and shelter where it can grow up to
60cm high, with pale green leaves, their scent reminiscent of cloves or
pepper. The finest flavour, however, is in the young leaves - in Itly,
where basil is the national herb, bunches of the freshly pulled herb
are rarely more than 15cm long.
You can grow basil on a sunny windowsill indoors and often pull off the
young leaves to encourage new shoots to grow. It does not dry well,
losing much of its flavour in the process, but basil can be frozen,
after blanching, in polythene bags. The Italians preserve basil in jars
of oil, layering the leaves with salt and topping up with good olive
oil to cover. It will keep in the fridge for several months.
Use torn basil leaves - don't chop them or much of the flavour, and
essential oil, is lost - in green salads, in fish, egg and chicken
dishes, to flavour soups, sauces, vinegars and marinades. Above all,
basil goes with tomatoes - shredded over a tomato salad, added to
tomato soups and omelettes and as zest to chilled tomato juice. It is
the main ingredient in pesto, the classic Italian sauce for pasta and
salads.
Coriander
Until recently, most coriander was grown in Britain for its seeds, the
leaves being dismissed as having little value. This is strange, for
green coriander leaves were much used as a cooking herb up to
Elizabethan times. Coriander is one of the ancient herbs, cultivated
for thousnads of years throughout the world. It is mentioned in the
Bible (Exodus 16,31) and in ancient Egyptian scrolls and used
extensively in Oriental, Middle Eastern and Mexican dishes - no curry
or chutney is complete without green coriander. The seeds are used
whole or ground to flavour meat dishes, breads and milk puddings.
Coriander is a hardy annual, usually up to 46cm high, with mid green
lobed leaves at the base and feathery stem leaves. It can be sown in
mid spring, in good, well-drained soil in full sun. Thin the seedlings
to stand 15cm apart. Coriander can also be pot-grwon, on a patio or
sunny windowsill. Pick the leaves as needed though you can leave a few
plants to flower and set seeds. Gather the seed heads as soon as ripe,
in late summer, or they will drop. The leaves are not suitable for
drying (they can be frozen or stored, like basil, in oil) The seeds
should be spread out on a tray to dry thoroughly before storage.
Bunches of fresh coriander leaves are readily available from ethnic
supermarkets. Use them as additions to green salads and to flavour
soups, vegetables, fish and meat curries, and in dressings, chutneys
and relishes.
Coriander seeds have a mild, sweetly aromatic flavour and are used in
large quantities in Eastern savoury dishes. Whole seeds are common in
pickling spice mixtures and in classic dishes a la grecque. For ground
coriander, dry roast the seeds first.
