Heavenly Herbs With Summer In Full Swing, Fresh Herbs Are Available As An Important Ingredient In Any Chef’s Creations

Some chefs are willing to get down and dirty for fresh herbs.

Several years ago, Sheila Collins was frustrated by the lack of just-picked herbs available in the area.

“You couldn’t even get basil in Spokane unless you special-ordered it,” said the owner of Catered for You.

So, she took matters into her own hands and planted an herb garden. Now, Collins cultivates at least five varieties of basil, along with a slew of other herbs.

“There’s nothing that defines the world’s cuisine like fresh herbs. They give food such interesting flavors,” she said.

While herbs have been used in cooking for thousands of years, creative chefs triggered the latest explosion of interest in Mother Nature’s most pungent food flavorings.

No longer satisfied with simple pepper steak, chefs introduced herb-crusted meats. And when ketchup became mundane, inventive cooks came up with fruit salsas energized by pineapple sage and tangy lemon verbana.

Few chefs, however, have the luxury of plucking fragrant herbs from their own plot of land. And that’s where specialty growers such as Greentree Naturals fill the void.

This Sandpoint-based organic herb and produce farm caters primarily to restaurants in that area, along with selling to private gourmet cooks. When the business was just getting off the ground a few years ago, owner Diane Green found an enthusiastic customer and collaborator in chef Bob Bradley.

“We would pore over seed catalogs in February and plan what herbs would work best for his cuisine,” she said. “I had never really cooked much with herbs, but Bob taught me a lot.”

Although Bradley’s French bistro recently closed, Greentree Naturals picked up additional clients who now pepper their menus with herb-infused dishes.

“I’ve never seen anything like the stuff she brings me,” said Marshall Blanchard, the chef at Swan’s Landing in Sandpoint.

He’s been blown away by some of Green’s more offbeat offerings, such as orange mint, lemon thyme and French tarragon.

Working with fresh herbs might initially be a bit intimidating, but Blanchard said he’s had fun experimenting with which flavors work well together.

“They’re so easy to use - you just throw them into almost anything and they end up making a simple dish something beautiful,” he said. “They add such bold tastes, you don’t need to add a million other ingredients.”

Some of his favorite combinations include adding rosemary to oven-roasted potatoes, perking up fish or grilled chicken with the addition of colorful leaves of lemon thyme and using thin slivers of mint in fruit-based salsas.

For his summer fresh sheet, Blanchard has come up with a tempting variation on the traditional Italian appetizer, bruschetta, by combining blackened rock shrimp, diced fresh tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and lots of fresh basil. The mixture is served over slices of toasted French bread.

At Ivano’s, another of Green’s customers, basil is used by the bucketful, primarily for pesto.

Owner Jim Lippe said he takes advantage of the seasonal abundance by adding soft sage leaves to sauces for chicken and pork. Adding rosemary and sage when roasting garlic is one of his favorite ways to make the kitchen smell wonderful. He also likes to grind a variety of pungent herbs such as rosemary and thyme together in an all-purpose marinade for meats, seafood or grilled veggies.

“It’s natural. It was a tradition in my family,” said Lippe, whose grandfather and father grew herb gardens.

To capture the flavors at their peak, Lippe suggests using fresh herbs within a few days of purchase. He also advises adding them in the beginning when making a cooked sauce so their strong flavors have time to mellow.

On the other hand, Laith Elaimy, at Niko’s II in downtown Spokane, likes to use uncooked herbs whenever possible.

“I don’t like the way basil tastes when it’s cooked,” said Elaimy, who grows a small herb garden that includes several types of mint, oregano, chives and basil.

This year, Elaimy has been experimenting with growing basil in pots on his restaurant’s windowsill.

“I didn’t really expect for them to make it indoors, but they’re doing pretty well,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to go out and clip some whenever I need it.”

Elaimy dresses up a lot of his salads with fresh herbs. Pasta salads are particularly suited to balance basil’s strong licorice quality.

For a Mediterranean specialty called fatoush, Elaimy uses a blend of spearmint, peppermint and pineapple mint to give the salad its trademark zing.

Because his mint “grows like weeds,” Elaimy dries the extra and uses it to flavor dishes throughout the year.

The main difference between fresh and dried herbs is their water content. As a rule, because dried herbs are more concentrated, you usually use more fresh herbs in a recipe, said Collins.

“Of course, everyone’s tastes are different, so you need to use your own judgment about what you like,” she said.

For instance, a bold-flavored herb like sage can be tempered with the addition of chives or parsley. Lavender is another herb that should be used only sparingly or in a blend.

Like Lippe, Collins is a big believer in coating meats and fish in an herb-based paste and grilling or broiling them.

“You make the paste kind of syrupy by adding a little liquid like white wine and olive oil for white meats or soy sauce for red meats,” Collins said.

The results are not only intensely flavorful, but also aromatic.

Even if you don’t want to get that fancy, Collins said that merely adding a handful of fresh herbs can dress up a bottled spaghetti sauce or any other processed food.

Chefs have discovered an added bonus of working with fresh herbs: You tend to use less salt and oil in recipes.

“You get that burst of flavor and you don’t even miss the salt or the fat,” said herb grower Green.

Broiled Sea Bass with Orange-Tarragon Beurre Blanc

Swan’s Landing chef Marshall Blanchard suggests using halibut if sea bass isn’t available.

4 (6-8 ounce) sea bass fillets

Olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

1 medium shallot, chopped fine

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 pound butter, cut into cubes

Juice from 1 orange

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat broiler. Brush both sides of the sea bass with olive oil and place in a shallow baking dish with 1/2 cup white wine. Broil for 6 minutes per side or until done, depending on thickness.

For the beurre blanc, simmer minced shallots, vinegar and remaining wine in a small saucepan until 1 tablespoon of liquid remains. Add the heavy cream and continue to simmer until the mixture is reduced by half. Remove from heat and whisk in butter, one cube at a time. Finally, whisk in the fresh orange juice and tarragon and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle a small amount of sauce over fish and garnish with a slice of orange and a sprig of tarragon.

Yield: 4 servings.

Fresh Herb Marinade

Jim Lippe of Ivano’s Ristorante Italiano in Sandpoint says any fresh herbs can be used in this recipe. Use it on almost anything before grilling, from steak or chicken to portobello mushrooms.

1/4 cup rosemary

1/4 cup sage

1/2 cup Italian parsley

1/2 cup basil

1/4 cup whole fresh garlic

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 cup olive oil

Remove stems from herbs. Place leaves in mixing bowl. Peel garlic and add to bowl along with the remaining ingredients.

Put contents of herb bowl into food processor and process until herbs are finely chopped.

Place mixture in a container and cover with a thin layer of olive oil. Allow to stand for 2 hours before using; refrigerated, it will keep for 2-3 days.

Yield: About 1 cup.

Fatoush

Laith Elaimy, chef at Niko’s II, usually uses a blend of mints, but any fresh mint will work well in this Middle Eastern-style salad.

2 pita breads, cut into 1/4-inch strips

1 head romaine lettuce, washed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces

4 medium Roma (plum) tomatoes, sliced

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 green pepper, seeded and diced

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/3 cup chopped green onion

1/2 medium onion, sliced thin

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and ground pepper to taste

Spread pita strips on a flat baking tray and allow to dry for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss well. Serve chilled.

Yield: 4 servings.

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