Cooking with Herbs & Spices [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION Herbs For centuries a myriad of herbs have been used in medicine, food and in witchcraft. In medieval times no king, lord or abbot would be without his herb garden. These herbs were not grown for their beauty but used in cooking to mask the flavour of ageing meat and scattered liberally either fresh or dried in homes to sweeten the atmosphere. A delightful booklet from Kew Gardens entitled "To please the outward senses" gives extracts from 16th and 17th century writings crediting somé plants with supernatural or curative powers. For instance, somé plants were more effective when collected, say, at full noon. Chives were thought to cause troublesome dreams. "Common sage", it says, "is singular good for the head and graine quickeneth the sences and memorie, strengtheneth the sinews, restoreth health to those that have the palsie". In recent years the demand for natural products has led to a revival of interest in herbs. Use fresh herbs generously. Dried have a more concentrated flavour and quantities should be reduced by a third when used in place of fresh. List of Herbs Bay leaf: the leaves are an indispensable part of a "bouquet garni". Make this with a collection of, for example, two bay leaves, a few sprigs each of parsley and thyme or marjoram, a few whole peppercoms and perhaps a clove of garlic, all tied up in a square of musíin with a long string, so that it can easily be removed from the casserole after cooking. Basil: its evocative, rather clove-like smell spells out Mediterranean sunshine. Dried basil is no substitute for the real thing. Caraway: the seeds have a distinctive flavour as everyone who has eaten a real goulash knows. Chervil: beloved of the French and an essential ingredient in 'omelette fines herbes'. In fact, it complements parsley and tarragon to perfection, bringing out their flavours fully. Chives: have a delicate onion flavour and are a great standby both for their flavour and as a garnish. Dili: unbeatable as a garnish for fish. When fresh dili is not available, substitute dili weed not dili seed. Dili weed is the herb used in pickled cucumbers. Fresh dili loses its delicate flavour in cooking, so it is best added just before serving. Fennel: fresh, feathery fennel looks similar to dili but has a strong aniseed flavour. The root is delicious when finely chopped and added to a tomato or fish ScllcLCl Ginger: fresh ginger is widely available. The root is called "a hand", because of its irregular tuber shape. Peel, preferably scrape, then chop finely or crush in a pestié and mortar before using. Somé recipes suggest bruising the ginger. Scrape, then give a firm blow m a pestié and mortar or use the end of a rolling pin on a board. This helps release the juices during cooking, but the ginger can be removed before serving if liked. The dried root is used extensively in pickling and will most certainly be one of the spices in the muslin bag when cooking chutney. It can alsó be bought ready ground. Garlic: the whole garlic is a bulb and each section a clove. Apart from giving an extra dimension in flavour to any dish in which it is included, it alsó has health-giving properties, cleansing the blood and aiding the digestive system. A garlic press is a good investment. Just trim off the root, then squeeze the whole clove into whatever you are cooking and the skin can be lifted out of the press in one piece. Horseradish: a root rather like a parsnip but with a powerful flavour and smell. Grate as required - it fast loses its pungency. Thin slices can be slowly dried in a low heat in the oven, then pounded and bottled for storage. It can be bought ready bottled and bottles of creamed horseradish as well as another, which includes beetroot, are alsó available. Juniper berries: have a rather sweet pine-like flavour. The berries are usually crushed before adding to a dish, to release the full flavour. They can be tied in a muslin bag if you don't like the bits in a casserole. They are used in marinades for game and the flavour alsó blends well with most herbs. Lemon grass (serai): clumps of this tall grass grow freely in tropical climates. The stems, which look like a miniatűré leek, are sold in somé supermarkets and Chinese shops in bundles of three or four stems. Any left over from your recipe can be stored for 2-3 weeks in the salad box of the refrigerator or in the freezer as follows: trim off the stalk (you can alsó freeze that) and discard the small root, leaving the fleshy part, which is about 5-6 cm (2-2V2 inch) long. Slice, then pound this or pass through a food processor. Use in the recipe as directed but if freezing, pack into small sealable containers and label with the number of stems. To bruise, use a pestle and mortar or rolling pin as for bruised ginger. Dried powdered lemon erass