Featured Ingredients: Fresh Herbs

One of the most exciting ways that I have improved the flavors coming out of my kitchen is cooking and baking with fresh herbs. The most satisfying way to begin that improvement has been to grow the herbs myself. Not only does that make it possible to pop wonderful and unique flavors into anything on demand, its also more economical. For the price of a container of fresh herbs (or, sometimes, not-so-fresh herbs) I can buy an herb plant or a package of herb seeds. Just a bit of care, and those plants can give me fresh flavors at my fingertips for months.

In a good year I grow a wide variety of herbs, and now I find a fairly long list of them to be essential: chives, sage, thyme, cilantro, oregano, parsley, dill, tarragon, rosemary, and different varieties of basil and mint. I’ve also had fun with summer savory and sweet stevia. This year, I’m happy to say that I’ve already got a bit of a starter kit going (Yay!), and so I’ve been perusing The Messy Apron Archives for recipes to kick-start a new season of cooking.

I have compiled a pared-down list of favorite recipes that feature fresh herbs. There’s quite a variety here: noodle dishes, soup, sauces, salads and baked goods. All have the vibrant flavors only fresh herbs can bring to a dish.

The simplest, and sometimes laziest, dishes are simple pasta dishes with noodles and often additional vegetables tossed with herbs. This post features more of a widely-applicable method rather than a recipe, my go-to method for quick suppers from late spring to early fall. 

 

I also love Asparagus and Pasta with Balsamic Tarragon Sauce and Bacon in the spring,

Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, and Basil in the summer,

 

And Warm Noodles with Cilantro and Coconut Lime Dressing just about any time of year. (Cilantro, along with parsley, is actually easily and affordably sourced in supermarkets.)

 

If you can get garlic scapes in the spring, this Pasta Carbonara with Garlic Scapes and Garlic Chives is a delicious way to use them.

Herbs are also fantastic ingredients for jazzing up beans, which I cook with all the time. White Beans with Sage and Garlic is the first recipe I make when I feel like my sage plant has grown large enough to sacrifice plenty of leaves.

 

When I have herbs and the weather is cool, either in spring or fall, I make White Bean Soup with Fresh Herbs.

Toss cold beans with herbs, vinaigrette and a few other favorite ingredients and you get something delicious like White Bean Salad with Green Olives and Tarragon.

 

For an even simpler salad, there’s Fresh Peas with Mint.

When I have a bumper crop of herbs, I make pesto. There are four herb-based pesto varieties in The Archives, and I love them all: Basic Basil Pesto, Spinach Chive Pesto, Parsley Hazelnut Pesto, and Spicy Cilantro Mint Pesto.

If you need a dip instead of a sauce, there’s Garlic and Herb Vegetable Dip, which can feature just about any herb you like.

Or, there’s Spicy Eggplant Dip with Basil and Mint.

Finally, you surely can bake with fresh herbs as well. Tomato or grilled cheese sandwiches are fabulous on this Whole Wheat Cornmeal Bread with Basil

 

And Lemon, Lime and Basil Cookies are a fabulous sweet treat with which to celebrate your fresh herb crop.

I can’t wait to dive into these favorites as well as vary some of them with different herbs and other ingredients. Of course, there are plenty of new recipes to try, and I no longer have to put off the ones that feature fresh herbs. I’ve got fresh herbs at my fingertips!