A Unique Child: Nutrition - Parsley, sage…

For centuries, herbs have played a key part in our foods, medicines, perfumes and beauty products, so their life-enhancing properties are well known. This year, Jekka McVicar, the award-winning organic herb grower, is creating a herb garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. The garden, ‘A Modern Apothecary’, will feature plants that are beneficial to health and well-being and also celebrates the ability of herbs to provide ‘rehabilitation to all the senses’.

After a dry period – literally – in the middle of the 20th century when herbs were often limited to a dusty pack of hay-like dried parsley or a jar of mint jelly, things are hotting up and getting adventurous in Britain’s kitchens again, as we reap the benefits of ethnic diversity and a new foodie culture.

Chefs such as Yottam Ottolenghi, whose Middle Eastern dishes feature herbs centre stage instead of in supporting roles, are steering our tastebuds into exciting new territory. Apparently, coriander, the mainstay of Asian cooking, has recently become the nation’s best-selling herb.

GATHER YOUR HERBS

A good selection of the more commonly used fresh herbs such as basil, mint, sage, thyme and coriander is available in supermarkets, either pre-cut or potted. For a wider choice you may need to go to a specialist wholesale greengrocer, such as our supplier Lovejoys Wholesale, which can offer seasonal specials or slightly more unusual varieties including purple basil, sorrel and wild garlic.

If you are lucky enough to have a local Asian or Middle Eastern market, large bunches of coriander, mint, flat-leafed parsley and Thai basil are much cheaper than the supermarket equivalent, and farmers’ markets are often great sources of more unusual herbs.

Of course, the cheapest and most satisfying way to ensure a good supply of the freshest herbs is to grow your own, and they make wonderful nursery plants because they do not just offer food but also a sensory environment for the children.

MAKE THEM LAST

There’s still a place for a few dried herbs, particularly the more robustly flavoured ones such as rosemary, thyme and oregano. Most herbs, though, taste much better fresh. Storage of fresh herbs can be problematic but there are ways of avoiding the packets of evil-smelling green sludge that results when shop-bought herbs get lost at the back of the fridge.

Packets of cut herbs should at least be opened and plastic bands removed from the stalks. Even better is to remove them from the bag and lay them gently on damp kitchen paper then seal in a plastic storage box in the warmest part of the fridge.

If the stems are longer, put them in a tall jug and a couple of centimetres of water. These methods are particularly good for the more delicate herbs such as basil, dill, coriander, tarragon and fennel.

Herbs with twiggier stems – rosemary, sage and marjoram – will stay fresh in the fridge for longer. Most herbs do not freeze well, but tougher varieties such as kaffir lime, curry leaves and lemongrass are fine sealed in a freezer bag. If you have an abundance of home-grown bay, rosemary, thyme, oregano or sage, these are all easy to dry by hanging them somewhere warm, clean and dry.

A fun way to deal with a glut is to make your own flavoured oils: sterilise bottles or jars, poke sprigs or leaves of herbs inside and cover with olive or rapeseed oil. You can make all sorts of combinations, adding spices and garlic cloves too, and use these to drizzle over soups, casseroles and salads.

GET READY

If your herbs are sandy, gritty or muddy, they will need to be washed, but only do this directly before using them, otherwise they will wilt and go mushy. Place them in a large bowl of cool water and gently swish them, then remove with your hands and dry them in a salad spinner or on a bed of kitchen roll.

Tender herbs – mint, basil and tarragon – bruise easily and should be chopped, not too finely, with a very sharp knife. Better still, pick the leaves from the stalks and tear gently – a lovely job to get your nursery children to help with.

AND COOK!

Robustly flavoured herbs – bay, rosemary, sage and thyme – are usually added early in the cooking process to allow them time to infuse their flavour through the dish and slightly mellow. Either pick the leaves from the stalks and chop them or tie twiggy bundles together with string and pick out at the end of the cooking.

The more tender herbs are better added right at the last moment of cooking or as a garnish because their flavour is overwhelmed by too much heat, although the tougher part of the stalk can be chopped finely and added earlier.

Of course, herbs do not need to be cooked at all and are delicious used as salad leaves if you have plenty. There are lots of exciting recipes available for cakes and biscuits using herbs, too. Try adding a sprinkle of lavender flowers to shortcake biscuits, or lemon thyme to your lemon sponge. Rosemary works well in a walnut caramel tart, I discovered, but that’s a sinful treat for home, filled as it is with butter, sugar and nuts.

DRINK YOUR HEALTH

You can introduce herbs to water to encourage children to up their fluid intake, especially during the hot summer months. Try adding different combinations of freshly grown herbs and fruits to a jug of iced water: lemon verbena, mint and a twist of lemon rind; basil leaves and a handful of chopped strawberries; mint, grated ginger and a squeeze of lime; elderflowers and lemon slices. Or make warm herbal tea infusions with lavender flowers, lemon verbena and lemon balm; chamomile and vanilla or just plain mint leaves.

GO WILD

The season for wild garlic is fast approaching and this prolific native woodland plant is easily identifiable by its pungent smell. Gather it for chopping into a frittata, sprinkling onto new potatoes or making a fresh pesto sauce for pasta or gnocchi. It’s also great in fresh soups with new spinach or courgettes and peas, and can be chopped and preserved in oil to add as a finishing touch to sauces and casseroles.

An obvious word of warning is you should never forage unless you are sure that you have correctly identified the plant and that you have permission from the landowner. At Snapdragons Keynsham we are lucky to have a little patch of wild garlic on our site that we can safely plunder.

MORE INFORMATION

www.jekkasherbfarm.com

www.ottolenghi.co.uk/green-herb-salad-shop

Mary Llewellin is operations manager for Snapdragons. Snapdragons Keynsham has the Food For Life Partnership Gold Catering Mark, a Children’s Food Trust Award, is accredited by the Vegetarian Society and was winner of the Nursery World Nursery Food Award in 2012 and 2014. See www.snapdragonsnursery.com

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