marjoram

There are two major types of marjoram – sweet and pot. Sweet, the one we use in cooking, has fleshy, light green leaves and a delicate sweet flavour. Pot is much stronger and pungent and is much closer in flavour to oregano which, with its soft velvety leaves and purple flowers, is a closely related herb that grows wild. Both sweet and pot marjoram grow abundantly in the Mediterranean area, and also wild throughout this country.

We use large quantities of fresh marjoram in the summer, picking the leaves from the stems and using them with vegetables, fish and both mozzarella and ricotta cheese. One of the sauces that is always on the menu in this season is salmoriglio – marjoram crushed with sea salt and then combined with lemon juice and olive oil.