The magic of rosemary

By Laura Kurella

Many home cooks fear using herbs, like rosemary, because it is an ingredient they have never used, but it’s an herb that offers a crazy list of benefits, making it one worth getting used to.

Did you know that rosemary has anti-bacterial cleansing properties? They are so potent that it’s used in mouthwash/gargle, in food to minimize spoilage, and burned as incense, smudge sticks, and in lamps to purify the air.

Used externally to heal wounds, clear acne, dermatitis, dandruff, lice, fungal infections, and as a hair rinse to promote growth, health, and shine, rosemary has also been welldocumented for its ability to wake up the circulatory and nervous systems. In fact, it’s whispered that it may have been utilized as a primitive form of Viagra.

Offering a rich source of antioxidants and antiinflammatory compounds, which help boost the immune system and improve blood circulation, rosemary serves as a cognitive stimulant, improving memory performance and quality, boosting alertness, intelligence, and helps with focus, too!

Perhaps best of all, as one of the most aromatic of the herbs, rosemary helps us to elevate the flavor of our food!

offering a pungent taste that is a bit lemony-pineyminty-sagey-peppery, rosemary can help counteract richness and fattiness, enabling it to pair well with poultry, oily fish, lamb, beef, and game, especially when roasted. Rosemary also enhances tomatoes, grains, spinach, peas, onions, potatoes, and mushrooms as well.

Whether to use fresh or dried is dependent upon convenience, and recipe use.

Fresh, full sprigs are great for finishing, garnishing, and adding their fresh look and flavor to certain food. Likewise, placing full sprigs in with roasts, soups, and other dishes helps rosemary’s flavor develop along with what’s roasting too, but does make later stem removal necessary.

Possessing tough leaves, fresh rosemary is best chopped, finely, unless a recipe states otherwise, and since it can be pricey and doesn’t stay fresh long, it’s best to grow your own in a portable container. This way it can go outside during summer months, and then winter indoors, so it can provide you with free rosemary year-round!

Chefs have been blending rosemary with other herbs for centuries. In fact, the famous “herbs de Provence” combine rosemary, thyme, marjoram, oregano, and savory. That said, rosemary also pairs well with sage, basil, parsley, chives, mint, bay leaves, cumin, nutmeg, star anise, and my favorite:

Garlic, which I will help you discover yourself in one of my favorite recipes below. Enjoy!

Laura Kurella is an award-winning recipe developer, food columnist, and author who enjoys sharing recipes from her Great Lakes Region kitchen. She welcomes your com- ments at laurakurella@yahoo.co m.

Beautiful Rosemary Chicken Con Broccoli

Approximate servings per recipe:

4.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied into 4 pieces flour for dusting

2 tablespoons light olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 large sprigs of fresh rosemary (2 for garnish)

14 ounces lowsodium chicken broth

1/2 pint heavy cream

1/4 cup butter

1 cup Orecchiette pasta, cooked al dente

3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, divided use

1 fresh crown of broccoli, cut into small florets

Dust chicken cutlets with flour. Heat oil in a large skillet on a high flame for 2 minutes. Add minced garlic and chicken. Sear on high flame for five minutes. Flip meat. Add chicken broth and the needles of one sprig of rosemary. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan on a low flame, melt butter. Add your milk choice and cook on the lowest flame possible, until needed, about 30 minutes. In a large pot, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring, for approximately 12 minutes or till they become “al dente” (noodles will finish cooking later in recipe).

Place broccoli florets in a heat-safe bowl. When pasta reaches al dente, strain pasta, over the bowl of broccoli, so that hot pasta water completely covers broccoli florets. Let broccoli bathe in the hot pasta water bath until it turns bright green, about 3 minutes, then drain. Meanwhile, rinse pasta with cold water to stop the cooking process. dish enhancement: To further elevate this dish, try adding in a little spinach (fresh or frozen) too!

Returning to the chicken skillet, remove chicken to a warm plate. Add milk mixture to skillet then add the minced leaves of one rosemary sprig then the Parmesan. Over medium heat, bring the skillet to a boil. Add pasta and stir, cooking for two minutes, then add chicken. Strain broccoli and add it to the skillet as well. Let the skillet cook for a minute or two to ensure all ingredients come up to the same temperature. Serve immediately.

Oh-So-Crispy

Rosemary

Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings

1 quart water

1 tablespoon

Vine gar

2 pounds Russet potatoes, cut into 2” pieces unrefined mineral sea salt, divided use

2 tablespoons favorite cooking oil

Pepper, to taste

2 sprigs fresh rosemary stemmed and minced (1 tablespoon dried)

Preheat oven to 450 deg rees. Line a large jelly roll pan with a sheet of parchment paper and set aside. In a 2-quart pot, combine cold water with vinegar and 1 tablespoon of salt. Add potatoes, then bring pot to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer. Par-cook potatoes until the exterior of the potato is tender, but the inside is still slightly firm when pierced with a fork, about five minutes.

Using a colander, strain potatoes, shaking colander a bit to help “scuff” the sides of the potato (this helps them crisp up) during baking. In a large bowl, using a large metal spoon combine oil, salt, and pepper, to taste, and rosemary. Add potatoes and blend well, using a spoon to help “scuff” the potato’s exterior a bit more. Spread potatoes out evenly on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, flipping potatoes with spatula halfway through roasting time, or until desired level of crispiness.