It’s best to select herbs from across the flavour spectrum. When selecting flavours, consider the groups Skye describes as
base-note herbs and top-note herbs.
“Base-note herbs are the
ones that help lay the foundations of any dish,” Skye says. “They
endure the burden of long, slow cooking, continuing to add their
flavour as long as they are cooking.”
These herbs – bay
leaves, thyme, rosemary and sage – are best bought as small plants,
rather than as seeds, and placed in large containers in a sunny spot.
The
group Skye describes as top-note herbs are largely summer herbs such as
mint and coriander. “Top-note herbs are like the icing on the cake –
they complete the dish. These herbs don’t tend to hold their flavour
through vigorous cooking but must be added very close to the end of a
recipe, even if only as a garnish, to maintain their clarity and
vibrancy.
“A few herbs fall into both base- and top-note
categories – parsley is one, while tarragon is another.”
Here we focus
on a selection of Skye’s favourites, to create an excellent capsule
herb garden.
CHERVIL
Chervil is hard to find in supermarkets but it is a very useful herb
and a good substitute for parsley. Use the fresh leaves in salads or
soups, sauces, chicken and egg dishes or as a beautiful garnish. - Growing: Buy as a young plant and transfer outside to a large pot. Water well and place in partial shade.
- Harvesting: Pick as required.
FENNEL
Use fennel leaves in salads or to flavour fish and meat. Add fennel seeds to lamb, pork and vegetable stews.
Growing: Grow fennel from seed and plant outside in well-drained soil from late spring. Do not overwater.
Harvesting: The feathery leaves can be picked as required. Harvest the
seeds in autumn just as they change colour from green to brown, and dry
well to lend a Mediterranean flavour to meat dishes and baking.
FRENCH TARRAGON
French tarragon works with chicken, fish, rice and salads and is essential in béarnaise sauce.
Growing:
Buy as a ready-grown plant and place in a large pot of gritty compost
in a sunny, sheltered spot. Pinch off any flowers to keep the supply of
leaves coming.
Harvesting: Pick from May until September. Remove whole stems with secateurs and strip leaves with your fingers.
MARJORAM
Marjoram is an aromatic herb that can be used as a substitute for
oregano. Use the leaves in salads or chop and add to roast meat
sandwiches, herb butter and egg dishes. Also great in stuffing, or add
near the end of cooking to meat dishes.
Growing: Marjoram is easiest to raise when bought as ready-grown plants.
Plant in a pot and place outside after the winter frosts have passed.
Keep plants bushy by pinching out growing tips and removing flowers. At
Petersham, marjoram is planted alongside basil in a sunny place.
Harvesting: Keep picking throughout the summer, but make sure you leave the new side shoots because they are your next harvest.
MINT
Mint is great as tea, used to make mint sauce or in Thai and Moroccan
dishes. Try spearmint, variegated pineapple and apple mint – the
varieties
favoured at Petersham – but do not plant together as the flavours will
become inferior.
Growing: Buy as a young plant, and transfer to a large container between
spring and autumn. Stand in a sunny spot, water well and prune lightly
in summer.
Harvesting: The more you pick it, the more it grows.
PARSLEY
Parsley is possibly the most useful herb you can grow and one of Skye’s
key ingredients. Flatleaf parsley has a strong, grassy flavour, while
curly parsley is a little subtler and sweeter.
Growing:
Grow from seed, keeping the temperature consistent until planted out.
Needs a large pot and partial shade in a spot that’s sheltered from the
midday sun.
Harvesting: Pick as required during the growing season.
SORREL
Raw
young sorrel leaves have a delicious lemony or fresh apple flavour that
is great in salads. Or use in hot and cold sauces and soups.
Growing:
Start sorrel off from seed, but it’s quicker to buy a ready-grown
plant. Plant in late spring and place in light shade, away from the
midday sun. Water well and feed throughout the season.
Harvesting: Pick leaves as required. If flowers appear, pinch off to prevent plants running to seed.
OTHER HERBS TO CHOOSE FROM
We
have focused on only a few of the herbs you can choose from. There are
many more that can be grown in containers including basil (Skye loves
the purple variety for added colour), sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano,
wild garlic, angelica, borage, bay and lemon balm. Chives and
coriander, meanwhile, are simple to grow from seed.
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