The Garden

THIS SECTION IS dedicated to Michael “Mr. Green Fingers” Quinn. Why the garden? If you try to buy fresh herbs in a supermarket, you will be met by rows of tiny plastic boxes containing three sprigs of rosemary or six leaves of basil at an exorbitant price. Look at your garden, or your windowsill—surely there’s a spot somewhere for a rosemary bush, a few pots of basil, or some chives? Go to your local garden center and buy one rosemary plant—pop it into your garden or into a pretty pot on your windowsill, and watch it thrive. Use sprigs of rosemary when you cook, it is so easy, so cheap, and so delicious. Now that you are hooked, read our list of “must-have” herbs and go get them.

Basil: Wonderful in all dishes that contain tomatoes or anything Mediterranean, basil regulates the adrenal system, helping our bodies to relax and cope with stress. Basil grows only in the summer, must be grown in pots, and needs to be watched, as greenfly love it. That said, it is so gorgeous you can forgive these minor faults.

Bay: A truly magnificent herb, or should that be tree—we have a bay bush that is now twelve feet high! Don’t let that put you off, though. Bay leaves are an essential ingredient in stock and for all roasting dishes.

Chives: Chives are perfect when you want the onion hit without the work. They are antibacterial and share other health-giving characteristics with the other members of their family—onions, scallions, and garlic. Very easy to grow, chives take up a minimum of space and produce pretty purple flowers too.

Mint: Excellent for enlivening salad dishes, mint cleanses the system wonderfully if you’re feeling “heavy.” Simple to grow, mint will happily occupy an entire bed to itself. You can contain it by planting it in a large colander.

Parsley: Another cleanser, parsley is also very high in vitamin C, perfect if you have the flu. Parsley is an “easy” herb, not so strong as to put people off, so it can be safely added to nearly all dishes as a natural flavor enhancer. Again, it is easy enough to grow, but best grown in pots.

Rosemary: Without a doubt my favorite herb. Rosemary and basil have a natural affinity and are gorgeous together. Rosemary works in traditional (potato cakes), Mediterranean (Cianfotta), and our food (fried rice). It is also easy to grow, provided you find a nice dry free-draining spot.

Sage: A robust flavor, sage is best used where you can really taste it, such as in Feta and Sage Relish (page 167), or else as part of a bouquet of herbs in a stew or stock. Sage is a wonderful healer, perfect with lots of honey for sore throats, the flu, or colds. Sage likes the same growing conditions as rosemary, a dry, hot undisturbed spot.

Thyme: Where would any stew be without thyme? Thyme is perfect with rosemary and sage, popped in beside any dish to be roasted. Its warm flavor is wonderfully comforting. Like sage, thyme is a great healer, though it is better suited to the lungs. Thyme will happily grow beside sage and rosemary.