Cooking with Fresh Herbs

Seasoning is the soul of great cooking. The cook who seasons with herbs respects the flavors of foods and insightfully and creatively enhances them. Fennel seed and garlic will uplift fresh salmon, for example, when a heavy cream sauce would only be an oppressive mask. Learning to use herbs skillfully not only will make your cooking healthier, but will enlighten the sensual pleasure of preparing food.

To cook with herbs, you must be involved with the food. If you are making black bean soup and think rosemary might work in it, taste the soup. Then smell the rosemary. Will they go together? You decide. If you are uncertain about your instincts, begin by briefly studying the classic herb combinations.

Use this list as a primer when you begin to cook with herbs, then advance to your own combinations. For four servings, start with about a tablespoon plus a teaspoon of fresh or frozen herbs or one and a half teaspoons of dried. In blends that combine both fresh and dried herbs combine to suit your taste.

To make a fresh chili powder, combine minced fresh hot chilies, minced fresh garlic, minced oregano, and cumin seed. Use to flavor soups, stews, and beans and rice.

Combine and grind at least four of these spices to make an East Indian curry powder: fennel seed, coriander seed, cumin seed, ginger, black pepper, mustard seed, fenugreek seed, garlic, minced fresh hot peppers, cayenne, and turmeric. Use in marinades or sauces for tofu, chicken, or such vegetables as cauliflower and eggplant.

Quatre epices, or four spices, is used in classic French cooking to flavor roast meats. It includes ground black pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon. Remove the pepper and the blend becomes all American pumpkin pie spice.

Chinese five spice powder, can be used to season the cooking oil when sautéing eggplant, green beans, chicken, or pork. To make it, combine and grind cinnamon, fennel seed whole cloves, star anise, and Szechuan peppercorns. Fresh minced garlic is always added before sautéing to balance the flavor.

To make a pickling spice, combine dill seed, mustard seed, bay leaves, and minced fresh garlic. Use it to pickle tiny cucumbers, beets, or carrots.

A bundle of aromatic herbs, called a bouquet garni, is used in French cooking to flavor stocks, soups, and stews. Combine parsley, thyme and bay in a tea ball, and add to a simmering soup: remove before serving.

Knowing that dill is a classic with fish, basil is a winner with tomatoes, and coriander leaf is commonly used in spicy foods can be a guide. These combinations withstand the test of time because the herbs enhance the foods, rather than mask or overpower them.