Home Cooking Weekend
Lavender is good in shortbread or as a flavouring for ice cream or custard. Sprinkle sparingly onto lamb or oily fish before roasting or baking.
Dried thyme is a multi-purpose herb to pop into a soup or casserole when a sprig of fresh is not available. Also great with chicken.
Mint has made a recent comeback, thanks to the trend for Middle Eastern food. Like fresh, dried mint can overpower, so use sparingly. Spearmint is more suited to savoury dishes (especially Greek dishes, lamb and split pea soup) than peppermint (use for sweets and chocolates).
Sometimes called kaffir lime leaves, tear or shred into Thai soups and curries for a distinctive citrus flavour.
MIX THEM UP Mixed herbs Useful no-salt seasoning for meats and vegetables. You can mix your own using marjoram, oregano and thyme. Italian mixed herbs Usually a mix of thyme, marjoram, oregano, sage, rosemary and garlic – a useful one-stop seasoning for pasta sauces, especially tomato. As with oregano, stir into a little oil before drizzling on pizza.
Choose freeze-dried lemongrass stalks, which have almost the same brightness and fragrance as fresh. Along with lime leaves – also best freeze-dried – lemongrass is good in curries and Thai dishes involving coconut.
Rosemary adds a pine fragrance to slow-cooked dishes (particularly Italianstyle soups, stews, braises and all lamb dishes). Use sparingly, and chop if you don’t want spiky leaves in your finished dish.
Rubbed (or crumbled) sage is better than powdered. It lacks the zing of fresh, but it complements poultry, pork and butternut squash, and stuffings.
BEST WHEN FRESH Basil, chives, coriander, parsley and tarragon may be supermarket bestsellers, but most cooks agree that dried is not a patch on fresh. At a pinch, they add a dash of green and a herby whiff to dishes, but lack the freshness or vibrancy of fresh.
May 2017 BBC Good Food Middle East 55