Citylife in Lichfield June 2021

Tastes of the Season
By Simon Smith
The Joy of Herbs
Herbs are one of the easiest things to grow in
a garden or pot on the windowsill. They have
so many uses: flavour, medicinal, floral
additions to a flower display, as well as flowers
in the garden.
So many garden centres stock them and also
supermarkets in pots as well as bags. You may
as well buy the ones in pots which can then
be planted once you have used the herbs you
need for cooking. Normally so much gets
wasted from a bag which is such a shame.
I also make my own herb oils which is very
easy and looks attractive on the plate. To do
this choose your preferred oil. Choose you
preferred herb and blanche in boiling water
for five seconds and then put straight into
iced water. Drain off and dry the excess
water. Put into a fast blender with the oil. The
amount of oil depends on what strength you
prefer. Blitz together and then strain through
a fine sieve. Do not force through as it will
turn bitter but rather leave for a couple of
hours. Store in the fridge for up to a week.
You can also add stems of herbs to a bottle of
oil to gently infuse and look good on the
shelf.
If you have an abundance of herbs during the
summer you can pick them, pop into an ice
tray, cover with water to freeze them and
then add you herb ice cube to dishes in the
winter.
If you are cooking with herbs as a garnish it’s
important to add them to the sauce at the
very last minute so that they stay green but
will still give you the same flavour as adding
them sooner.
Many of these herbs will give you beautiful
flowers for a short period of time. These are
great for garnishes and also added to
cocktails. Borage, for example, grows
profusely and will have blue and purple
flowers for most of the summer. These are
traditionally used for drinks made with Pimms.
Chives will give you a blue starburst flower
which are great to liven up a salad. Rosemary
and thyme give much smaller flowers, but they
are still great to sprinkle on a summer salad.
Herbs also make a great infusion and if you
have one of those glass teapots with a mesh
compartment in the middle they work really
well. Fill the compartment with fresh mint and
ginger, top with nearly boiled water and leave
for five minutes. Much better than using a
bought tea bag. Be careful with mint as the
flavour varies enormously between them. My
favourite is apple mint or spearmint. Although
you can get pineapple and chocolate mint I
don’t feel they work so well as an infusion.
All herbs have their preferred partner, such as
fish with dill, parsley or fennel; chicken with
tarragon; beef with thyme; lamb with
rosemary. These all work well together but
that is not to stop you playing with
combinations and seeing what works for you.
If you have just used the leaves of thyme or
rosemary, keep the stalks for making stock as
they will give a great boost to the flavour.
Even if you use a shop bought stock these will
give an added oomph to your sauce.
Salmon Fillet with Honey, Mustard
and Garden Herbs
(for 4 people)
4 x 200gm salmon fillets
1 x tbsp grain mustard
1 x tbsp runny honey of your choice
1 x cup finely chopped mixed herbs (I would
use parsley, dill, fennel and mint for this)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Mix
the honey and mustard and brush evenly on
the salmon fillets. Put onto a baking tray and
roast in the oven for 10 minutes or until firm
to the touch. Take out of the oven and dip the
top in the mixed herbs so you get an even
green carpet of herbs. Serve on a bed of
crushed Jersey Royal potatoes with a knob of
butter.
Simon Smith runs a catering business from his
production kitchen in Lichfield, providing bespoke private
dinners plus wedding, corporate and event catering.
Simon also undertakes cookery demonstrations around
the country and with local businesses such as Arthur
Price and Tippers. During the summer months Simon
works for private clients both on superyachts and in
villas in St Tropez and Europe. If you are looking for
catering or a day of cookery skills go to
www.simonsmith-chef.com
*Please take extra care when preparing and handling
hot foodstuffs. Go to www.food.gov.uk for further details.
**Please take extra care as bones may be in the fish.