Fresh herbs are welcome any time but I have a special fondness for them in spring, early summer and fall, when they are tender and less likely to have turned bitter from heat.
Thanks to our daughter Kate, our condo building’s shared patio has three containers overflowing with a mix of flowers and herbs. Right now rosemary, sage, chives and (best of all) basil are in their glory. Just about every day, I’m out there snipping herbs for salads, omelets or scrambled eggs, summer pastas, pizza.
It’s easy to buy planted or cut herbs at farmers markets. Even in supermarkets, this is the season we’re most likely to find piled-up bunches of dill, parsley, basil, not just herbs hermetically sealed in plastic.
To save fresh herbs for a few days, wrap them in damp paper towels. Or put the stems in a jar of water and loosely cover the leaves.
Weirdly, I never had a spice/nut grinder until recently, instead making do with chopping or a mortar and pestle. Now I have one and am loving it. This is the rare appliance that’s not a space hog, an important consideration in my small kitchen. For small quantities of herbs, it’s amazing. A favorite staple is an herb-forward seasoning rub for ribs, pork tenderloin, chicken or portabellas.
Now’s the time to make pesto in quantity to stockpile in your freezer. Basil pesto is classic but I also like to throw in chives and a bit of mint—not too much of the latter because it wants to dominate. Sometimes a handful of flat-leaf parsley or arugula. Pine nuts are traditional but I don’t always use them because they tend to be crazy expensive. In Sicily almonds or pistachios are traditional in pesto alla trapanese. Peeled, seeded tomatoes add a welcome acidic note but they do muddy the color. I prefer a deconstructed version with pesto and grape tomatoes or cut-up tomatoes added separately.
Add a little mayo to your pesto and you have a great spread for BLTs or other sandwiches. In addition or in place of lettuce, layer basil, parsley or cilantro leaves on your sandwich.
Chilled soups! Lately I’ve been making green gazpacho in my blender. Whatever’s greenish is fair game: green or yellow heirloom tomatoes, cucumber, cubanelle peppers, cilantro, mint, jalapeños or serranos. Serve as a first course or as sippable shooters to pass at a party.
This vibrantly flavored mixture makes a great rub for chicken, ribs, pork roast or portabella mushrooms. It keeps for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Makes 1/2 cup.
- Leaves from 1 sprig rosemary
- Leaves from 1 sprig sage
- 2 teaspoons black or mixed peppercorns
- 1 or 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup coarse sea salt or kosher salt
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Place rosemary, sage, peppercorns and garlic in spice grinder. Chop finely. Add salt and process until blended. Transfer to a jar. Keeps well, refrigerated, for a couple of weeks.
Variation: If you don’t have a spice grinder (I didn’t until recently!), chop the herbs and garlic finely by hand. Blend with salt and 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper.
You could enjoy this pesto with pasta, of course—Sicilian busiati, ideally, or another southern Italian variety such as cavatelli, together with grape or cherry tomatoes cut in small pieces. But I also love a dollop of this pesto on a bowl of minestrone made with white beans and all kinds of summer vegetables. Makes about 1 cup.
- 1 ½ cups firmly packed basil leaves
- ½ cup firmly packed mint leaves
- 1 or 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons roasted unsalted pistachios or lightly toasted slivered almonds
- 1/3 to ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt or kosher salt to taste
- ½ cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano or pecorino cheese
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Combine basil, mint, garlic and pistachios in a blender or food processor container. Blend until chopped. Gradually add olive oil and process until smooth; stop and push mixture down sides of container as necessary.
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Taste pesto and season with salt as necessary; transfer to a small bowl. Fold in cheese.
A Spanish cook I know keeps a pitcher of gazpacho in her refrigerator all summer long. That's a goal to aspire to! This herb-laden green version makes a nice change from the more common red tomato gazpacho. Makes 3 1/2 to 4 cups.
- 2 large green or yellow heirloom tomatoes
- 2 slices coarse-textured white bread crusts trimmed
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 1/2 cups peeled, cubed seedless cucumber
- ½ cup roughly chopped sweet onion
- 1 or 2 roasted cubanelle peppers, skin removed optional
- ½ cup snipped dill, chives and/or basil
- 1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
- Sea salt or kosher salt
- Green or red hot sauce
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Core tomatoes and cut in half. Set a strainer over a bowl and use your fingers to press out seeds.
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Soak bread briefly in water. Squeeze into a bowl to remove most moisture. Place bread in a blender container with garlic and blend, adding soaking water as necessary for a smooth consistency.
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Add seeded tomatoes with liquid, cucumber, onion, peppers (if using) and half the herbs to bread mixture. Blend until smooth, adding cold water as needed for a thick but pourable consistency.
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Add lime juice, 2 teaspoons salt and a couple of hot sauce splashes. Blend briefly. Taste and add more seasoning if needed (seasonings will be slightly muted once the soup is chilled).
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Chill gazpacho thoroughly. Snip leaves from remaining herb sprig in small pieces or ribbons. Pour gazpacho into small bowls, goblets or, to pass at a party or barbecue, in shooter glasses. Garnish with remaining herbs.
