tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Grind the basil, garlic and pine nuts together with a pestle and mortar. Add the Parmesan cheese to form a thick paste. Slowly add the olive oil to the mixture, blending in carefully. This pesto sauce can be heated gently before use with pasta or baked potatoes.
SPINACH WITH DILL
Fresh dill (a generous handful)
1.2kg (2lb) spinach
4 shallots
Butter
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Boil or steam the dill, spinach and shallots together. Serve with butter and some lemon juice. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
DILL SAUCE
This is a seventeenth century recipe.
1½ tablespoons butter
1½ tablespoons flour (wholemeal)
1½ cups hot stock
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
½ tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper
½ tablespoon brown sugar
1 egg yolk
Melt the butter. Blend in the flour and hot stock gradually, stirring to keep a consistent mix. Add in the dill, lemon juice, salt, pepper and sugar. Cool the sauce slightly, then whisk in the egg yolk. This is delicious served with roast meats, especially beef.
Chop the dill as finely as possible.
Elena M. Tarasova
Dill (Anethum graveolens)
Madlen
HOT HERB SLAW
½ cabbage, shredded
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup vegetable stock
Fresh basil, dill and oregano
¾ cup plain yoghurt
Fry the cabbage in the butter for a few minutes, then add the stock with small sprigs of each of the herbs. Simmer for a few more minutes, then add the yoghurt. Cook for a moment longer, then serve.
RAVIGOTE SAUCE (FOR CHICKEN OR POULTRY)
1 cup meat stock
1 tablespoon (15ml) fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon (15ml) fresh chives
1 tablespoon (15ml) fresh chervil
1 garlic clove, crushed
Remove the fat from the roasting pan but leave the juice. Add stock, the chopped herbs and garlic clove. Bring slowly to the boil. Serve with herbs in the sauce.
CREAMY BASIL SAUCE
2 shallots
1 cup double cream
Handful of fresh basil
Chop the shallots and cook gently with the double cream for a few minutes. Shred the basil finely and divide into two portions. Stir one half into the cream and shallot mixture and use the other to garnish the sauce. This is delicious served with lamb chops or chicken breasts.
HERB BUTTER
1 tablespoon fresh chervil
1 tablespoon fresh chives
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
1 teaspoon lemon juice
500g (1lb) butter
Steam the chervil, chives and tarragon lightly for a few minutes. Drop the shallots into boiling water briefly, then drain and blend with the mixed herbs. Blend the herbs, lemon juice and shallots with the butter. This herb butter is excellent with vegetables, baked potatoes or roast meats.
Shallots
Therdsak Supawong
LEMON VERBENA JELLY
2 cups fresh lemon verbena leaves
¼ cup cider vinegar
4½ cups sugar
75g (3oz) liquid pectin
Shred the lemon verbena leaves. Pour 2½ cups of boiling water over the leaves, cover and leave to stand for 15 minutes. Strain the mixture and pour into a saucepan. Add the cider vinegar and sugar and bring to the boil. Stir well. Add the pectin and boil thoroughly for about 1 minute, stirring all the while. Pour into sterilised jars and seal.
ANGELICA RATAFIA
This is based on a Victorian recipe.
250g (½lb) angelica stalks
1 litre (2 pints) good brandy
1.2kg (2lb) brown sugar
7g (¼oz) ground mixed cloves and cinnamon
Cut the angelica stalks into small pieces and steep in the brandy. Add 550ml (1 pint) water and the brown sugar, then mix in the spices. Stand for six weeks, then filter and bottle.
Lavender honey
almaje
LAVENDER HONEY
550g (1lb) honey
1 cupful lavender leaves
Pour the honey over the lavender leaves and heat gently in a double boiler, simmering for 30 minutes. Strain into sterilised warm jars and seal. Keep for at least a month before using. This honey is excellent for coughs and sore throats, as well as delicious with herb teas.
THYME AND LEMON SAUCE
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 lemons
1 tablespoon honey
Use a mortar and pestle to crush the coriander seeds and thyme. Squeeze the lemons and add the juice to the thyme and coriander seeds with the honey. Blend thoroughly together. This sauce is particularly delicious with fish dishes.
ROSE PETAL WINE
2 litres (4 pints) scented rose petals
2.5kg (4lb) sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Wine yeast and nutrient
Mix together the rose petals, sugar and lemon juice. Add 4 litres (1 gallon) boiling water. Steep until the water is lukewarm. Then add the wine yeast and nutrient. Leave the mixture in a warm place for one week to ferment. Stir once a day. Strain into a fermentation jar and fit an airlock. Once a firm deposit has formed, strain into a clean jar. When fermentation has stopped and the wine is clear, strain into clean bottles. Lay by for six months before drinking.
Rose petal wine
Danilova Janna
MINT PUNCH
1 litre (2 pints) fresh mint leaves
250g (½lb) caster sugar (or more to taste)
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