The Cooks Herb Garden

As a cook, herbs are my best friends. Just a handful brightens up my emergency store cupboard concoctions: dried pasta and canned tomatoes cry out for warming, peppery basil; green beans and flaked tuna for robust parsley and gentle chives; and rice and frozen peas for scented thyme or sage. Half a clove of crushed garlic will not go amiss in any of these impromptu scenarios either. When I am preparing a more gourmet, formal meal, herbs are wonderful allies, too. And they have power in numbers, so I love putting together a palette of mixed herbs—a bed of rosemary sprigs and thyme underneath a shoulder of lamb, a generous scattering of dried fennel and mustard seeds over belly of pork, and tarragon and parsley in a buttery pan of fried tomatoes. At the end of cooking, I add a scattering of fresh herbs to give a flourish of visual appeal and palatetingling top notes. As an urban dweller, I am unable to have a proper herb garden but every year I manage a couple of pots on the windowsill and have never found the need to buy herbs—in the growing months, at least. Running a hand through stems of rosemary or pinching off basil leaves lifts the spirits, but don’t despair if you cannot have fresh herbs permanently on tap; remember that many freeze well. When freezer space is at a premium, herbs should be a priority—a ginger root, a roll of herb butter, or a cilantro ice cube are all well worth their shelf space.