How to use herbs in cooking to enhance your dishes.

The Mediterranean cuisine is filled with unmatched aromas, colors, and flavors. The sun, wind, and earth are elements in Italy that provide the opportunity to collect fruits and vegetables that have an intensity and clarity of scents found in few other regions of Europe. The further south we go, the more we realize this. The Belpaese is characterized by a cuisine rich in aromatic herbs.

If we walk in some beautiful marine nature reserves, we can be intoxicated by the scents of the Mediterranean scrub. Thyme, rosemary, coriander, marjoram… It is the magic of nature that attracts with its essential oils and serves as a spokesperson for beauty and enjoyment on the plate, in addition to the benefits that aromatic plants bring also in the kitchen.

Our Italian flag at the table? A Gragnano pasta with tomato and basil. Or as they say in Naples, cu a pummarola ‘ncopp. 

The Genovese pesto is the result of working fresh basil with a pestle. If you use Genovese DOP Basil, the intoxicating scents change significantly. All thanks to the Ligurian land, the type of basil, but above all the sea and its favorable climate.

We recommend thyme with fish, especially with a nice baked sole with Sicilian lemon. Thyme is also the typical aroma that pairs very well with a nice couscous with vegetables like eggplants and peppers or with roast lamb or a savory pie of potatoes and cheese.

Rosemary is the main ingredient in our roasts and spit-roasted chicken, but let’s also remember to add it to fries when frying to give a bit of balsamic aroma. Just let it sit for a short time, just long enough for it to release its essential oil.

Sage is the main ingredient if we want to taste homemade tortellini to be enjoyed with a bit of fresh butter and fresh sage, indeed. A succulent and very simple recipe.

Let’s not forget lemon verbena, also known as lemon balm or tarragon. It has a lemon scent and its pleasantness can be used to flavor cod fillets, to give an intriguing taste to fresh tuna carpaccio, or to enhance fresh ice creams made with cream or milk. Lemon verbena is also an ideal component to flavor a good tea without adding lemon. Just the scent.

Finally, but there are many others, fresh oregano. A pizza with fresh oregano and tomato has a goodness that can never be reached with dried oregano. More delicate, fine. We recommend adding it at the end of cooking, so we do not burn the essential oil contained but facilitate its release from the leaf with the heat of the pizza at the end.
 

With aromatic herbs, unexpected results are achieved. Certainly, one does not give up taste!

Bernardo Pasquali

S&M