FOR AS MANY YEARS AS I’VE BEEN A CHEF, I’ve always been asked the same three questions: Do you cook at home? What do you cook at home? And why aren’t you fat?
Yes, I cook at home—very often. I’m bound to my restaurant stove four nights a week, but on the other three you’ll find me in my Seattle bungalow’s kitchen, and it’s pretty hard to drag me away. I love to fiddle at home, but not fuss. When I cook on my nights off I don’t want to feel like I’m at work, so Monday through Wednesday—my nights at home—I put on a completely different hat than the chef’s toque I wear in my restaurant. I cook food that I crave or that pleases my partner Stephen and my guests, and though we eat very well, the preparations have to be simple. The common thread, whether I’m cooking at home or at The Herbfarm, is fresh herbs. Herbs appear in most every dish I prepare for my nine-course restaurant menus, and they make their way from my backyard garden into much of the food I cook in my home kitchen.
Like most home cooks, I search for fast and easy-to-prepare recipes that taste extraordinary. When I cook with fresh herbs it’s easy to achieve amazing results with little effort. As I experiment at the restaurant, inventing dishes and pondering different ways of incorporating the herbs, I always think about how I can translate the same techniques into no-fuss home recipes. I’ve collected the best of those recipes, added some favorite versions of familiar classics that I’ve enlivened with herbs, like lasagna and stuffed eggs, and organized them according to the occasion, whether a workday supper for the family, a special dinner for two or four, or a feast for a table full of guests. If you’re already accustomed to cooking with fresh herbs, these recipes will inspire you with new ideas. If you’re just discovering them, I know you’ll get hooked when you taste what they can do for your cooking.
As much as teaching how to cook with herbs, I strive to encourage more people to grow them, so I’ve included important tips on the varieties, culture, and characteristics of each herb I coot with. A backyard herb garden, or even a big planter filled with herbs, is an endlessly rewarding project for any avid cook. Instead of spending a couple of dollars each time you buy a few sprigs of questionable freshness, you’ll have a rejuvenating supply with just a small initial investment of time and money. Freshly picked culinary herbs are far more vibrant tasting and you’ll have a much wider selection of varieties, including those you can’t buy as a cut herb in any store. Beyond that, there’s great pleasure in the very act of harvesting the herbs you are going to cook with. Even though you might have only plopped the plants in the ground and watered them, you can’t help but feel the accomplishment of raising these useful and delightful ingredients yourself.
As to why I’m not fat, what if the herbs …?