A Celebration of Herbs

Prompted by National Herb Week here in Ireland, this week’s column is all about my beloved herbs – not just parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme… I’ll encourage you to be extra adventurous – experiment with less familiar herbs. I’m loving the bright celery flavour of the new season’s lovage that’s popping up in the Ballymaloe Cookery School Herb Garden. It’s a leafy perennial that grows about 5 feet tall and comes back every year. The tender young growth is particularly delicious in salads and in soups but we also enjoy this under-appreciated herb in scrambled eggs, omelettes and potato and tomato salads with lots of slivered spring onions and parsley.

Fresh herbs can literally transform the flavour of dishes and just like spices, herbs have many different flavours depending on how they are used. Whether they are added at the beginning of the cooking process, in the middle, at the end or scattered in sprigs over the final presentation.

Some, like rosemary and thyme oxidise and discolour within minutes of being chopped, sage is similar. You’ll also have noticed that the fresh young growth is milder than the robust flavour of the evergreen perennials so use accordingly.

The blue, nectar rich flowers of rosemary, thyme and sage attract bees in spring and early summer and also provide flowers and leaves for an aromatic posy on your kitchen table. All of these herbs have medicinal as well as culinary uses. Rosemary is a powerful anti-inflammatory, a rich source of antioxidants, boosts the immune system and helps to improve memory.

So how about a simple glass of rosemary tea every day, just pour boiling water over a generous sprig of rosemary, allow it to infuse for 3 or 4 minutes and enjoy.

Sage too has similar properties, the latter is another underused herb but I fry copious quantities of young leaves to scatter over fried eggs, pasta or a risotto. They’re addictive and have you tried the Tuscan snack Salvia Fritti or Sage and Anchovy Fritters. Talk about addictive, there never seems to be enough… the perfect nibble with a glass of crisp dry white Soave or a fino.

As ever I am encouraging you to grow your own herbs, close to your kitchen door so you can pop out on a whim to snip a few leaves (and flowers) to add magic to what might otherwise be a totally mundane dish.

Urbanites can grow lots on a window sill, in large pots or in galvanised buckets.

Check out your local garden centre or seek out passionate small growers at Farmer’s Markets to find unusual varieties of familiar herbs. For example, there are numerous forms of mint - apple mint, strawberry mint, pineapple mint, ginger mint, liquorice mint, chocolate mint, Moroccan mint…but spearmint and peppermint are probably the most useful. Apparently there are over 600 varieties on the planet.

There are also numerous sages, the purple and variegated are also easy to source but at least have common sage. Lemon balm is another perennial ‘must have’ and the variegated version, with its green and cream leaves is also worth looking out for.

But back to Herb Week, now in its 15th year, it was created in 2006 to celebrate the nutritional and medicinal value of herbs. Check out the web for further information.

This year, parsley is the herb of the year – well doesn’t this versatile favourite deserve to be celebrated. I grow both curly and flat parsley and use it in copious quantities. No one should have to buy parsley and one can never have too much. It is a biennial (lasts 2 seasons) and bet you didn’t know that it has more Vitamin C than an orange. Just pick a couple of outside stalks off the plant at a time. Flat parsley seems to be more fashionable now but both are equally delicious. Use all of the stalk too and at the end of the second year harvest the root, you’ll be blown away by the flavour, use in stews, salads, parsley pesto or the stock pot.

The Perfect Brunch with Rachel and Paul

Join Rachel Allen for a Cookalong to support the world's most vulnerable communities on May 29. Funnyman Paul Howard aka Ross O'Carroll Kelly will play host and help guide us through the perfect brunch!

When: Saturday 29 May from 10am to 11.30am

Where: From the comfort of your own home! Join anywhere in the world via your mobile, tablet, computer or device.

Cost: Just €10. All proceeds will go towards GOAL's work tackling poverty in the developing world.

Go here to register.

Sustainable Living

 Sadly Ireland, the ‘green clean island’ has consistently ranked among the poorest performing countries on the environmental sustainable development goals (SDG’s) presenting ‘a very disturbing picture of pollution and biodiversity loss’.  According to the latest Sustainable Progress Index (SPI) commissioned by Social Justice Ireland, we rank 11th out of 15th comparable countries in the EU.  It’s also pretty shocking to learn that although some areas are performing well, the biggest transgressor of environmental law in Ireland is the State.

In 2015, countries worldwide came together for the first time under the United Nations and adopted the 17 sustainable development goals.  They covered a wide range of areas from climate change to health, education and food waste.  An ambitious agenda for a better world by 2030. 

Since then, there has been many missed deadlines and many summits including a recent 2-day virtual summit hosted by President Biden to celebrate World Earth Day.  The US, China, Russia and EU participated.  Greta Thunberg has rocked the world with her clear science based message and direct challenges to world leaders and more recently Pope Francis appealed for the world to ‘take care of biodiversity, take care of nature’ and reminded us that Covid-19 and climate change demonstrated what scientists have been screaming from the roof top for decades we no longer have time to waste. 

Not for the first time, the general public are well ahead of the politicians, we’re all properly fed up of empty, flamboyant promises.  We crave action and direction.  We long for courageous leaders who will walk the walk not just talk the talk and we are ready to walk with them.  Time is most definitely running out. 

Coupled with the trauma of living with Covid, the enormity of the challenge can seem overwhelming. 

What can we do?  Let’s rack our brains to think of little things we can change in our everyday lives to live more sustainably and benefit the planet.

First, let’s pick up our pens and write to our politicians to emphasise that as citizens, we want Ireland to step up to the plate and honour our commitments.  I’ve always dreamed of Ireland, the Organic Food Ireland – think of how it would enhance the prosperity of our farmers and food producers at a time when people are craving food they can trust and are well aware of the damage pesticides and herbicides are doing to our health, the health of the soil and the environment in general…

In no particular order:

1. Avoid single use plastic and switch to reusable water bottles.

2. Let’s grow some of our own food - check out Grow Food not Lawns

3. Grow our own herbs, immediately we are eliminating all those plastic trays.  Grow perennial vegetables, herbs and flowers. 

4. Shop at a Farmers Market which also supports local farmers and food producers and small food businesses. 

5. Keep a stash of reusable shopping bags in your car.

6. Carry a coffee mug or glass in your bag.

7. Work towards Zero Waste, almost 50% of plastic waste globally is generated by shopping.  Leave the packaging behind and politely urge your supermarket to reduce unnecessary excessive packaging. 

8. Buy loose vegetables and fruit…

9. No need to line your trash bin with plastic - these bags takes 10-20 years at least to decompose.

10. Keep a few hens – 3 or 4 hens in a little coop in your garden will eat all your food scraps and reward you with eggs instead.  They are the ultimate recyclers and the manure will make your soil more fertile to grow more nutritious food – or link up with a neighbour who has hens, swap eggs for food scraps.

11. Keep bees, even one hive on your roof or in your garden, if you don’t want to be a beekeeper, why not contact a local beekeeper, they may be happy to look after your bees, buy the honey from them in exchange…see www.irishbeekeepersassociation.com

12. Think natural cleaners.  Make your own all-purpose cleaner.  Combine half a cup of white malt vinegar with a quarter cup of bread soda and 4 pints of water. 

13. Use cloth rather than paper napkins and washable wipe down cloths.

14. Let’s try not to buy more than we need, get creative and have fun with leftovers.  You’ll be surprised how much money you save and how little food you waste.

15. Buy local flowers, about 90% of flowers sold in florists are imported and heavily sprayed.  Ask for Irish foliage and flowers. 

16. Learn ‘how to recognise’ food in the wild, forage…

17. During Covid, many of us have realised we need a lot less ‘stuff’.  Shop in thrift or charity shops, donate, reuse, recycle, repair. 

18. Use a bar of soap rather than liquid soap in dispenses that have a far heavier carbon footprint. 

19. Use timber chopping boards and wooden spoons rather than plastic – they are more hygienic and in many cases are easier to clean. 

20. Collect kindling when you go for a walk in the country.  There are a million other ways we can make our homes more energy efficient.

21. Support small local shops, your local butcher and fish monger.  Seek out lesser known fish and cuts of meat, less expensive and absolutely super delicious.

22. Use all parts of vegetables, the green part of leeks for stocks and soups, stalks and leaves of beets, leaves of radishes…

23. Make the most of seasonal gluts, have fun preserving in oil, vinegar, jams, chutneys, ketchups, make kimchi….

24. Leftover bread can be whizzed up for breadcrumbs, frozen and used for stuffing’s or gratins, alternatively dice and use for instant croutons.

We can all make a difference in a myriad of ways and enjoy the feel good factor.