Preserving Garden Herbs - Conservare le Erbe del Giardino

What makes those summer dishes flavorful are the fresh garden herbs. To relish those flavors all year long, I preserve my garden herbs.

All photos - Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino – picasaweb

We cultivate these culinary herbs: sage, rosemary and mint.  In mid summer, I pick them at their peak and hang to air dry in a warm dry place until they are crunchy to the touch.  I then place each dried herb in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

How can my leg of lamb or pheasant dish be flavorful without the rosemary?

How can the string beans, pasta maritata and zucchini fritters taste spring-like without mint?

Basil

Basilico sott'olio

Basil can be preserved two ways - dry and in oil. I prefer the oil method. 

Remove the basil leaves from the stalks, wash them, dry them with a cloth and leave for a few minutes stretched out to dry. To keep the basil in oil take a glass jar with a wide opening and fill it completely with dry basil leaves, spreading and overlapping them well. Add olive oil, pressing the leaves so that they remain under the thread of the oil. Close the jar and keep in the refrigerator.  Basil kept in oil retains much of its fragrance. Use basil to make savory sauces and on baked fish.

  Celery Leaves

Celery is not just for salads but great to spice up foods.  Celery leaves from our garden are worthwhile leaves with intense flavor that fall somewhere in the scent category between cilantro and parsley.

Like basil, wash the celery leaves, dry them with a towel and leave for a few minutes stretched out to dry. 

Place the dry celery in a zip-lock bag and freeze. 

Celery is excellent with zucchini and potatoes, baccala', chicken soup and a must in bird stuffing.

Buon Appetito!

Home-made Pasta Maritata (Sagne maritate)

Spring is here!  The fresh mint appeared in the yard and so has the fresh garlic. 

            Mint growing

Fresh garlic

It's time to make sagne maritate (married pasta).  It's called "married" because the pasta marries (si sposa) with other ingredients.  This is an old family recipe.

All photo Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

Ingredients (Sauce)

1/2 cup chopped mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh garlic (if available)

Alternate 3 cloves of minced garlic

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes in oil (if available)

Salt and pepper

Dough

4 cups flour (all purpose, or half all purpose and half semolina flour)
Pinch of salt

3 medium eggs
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Water (tepid) as required

Place the flour mixture on a pastry board and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs, olive oil, salt and a small amount of water (if needed). Begin to stir the flour from the outside of the well into the wet ingredients. Continue this process until the dough holds together in a ball. Let it rest for 30 minutes. Stretch the dough with the pin and roll out (not to thin). Cut the dough in rectangles and then in squares using a dough wheel to create the edging.

In a large pot of boiling water, add the pasta and cook just for a few minutes.  Drain (not totally) and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.  Put cooked pasta back into the pot.  Add reserved water.  Place pasta pot on the stove over low heat. Add the minced mint, garlic, walnuts, red pepper flakes, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir gently and mix well. Cook the pasta for few minutes and serve immediately.

Penne with Eggplant and Mint Pesto - Penne con Melanzane e Pesto di Menta

Mint is a very fresh and tasty spice, unfortunately, little used in the culinary world.  We enjoy it in string beans.  Not everyone knows but mint makes also a great pesto sauce for pasta.

This dish is a splendid variation on the classic Italian Pesto.  I use fresh mint from my garden rather than basil for a different flavor.  

   

 Ingredients
 3 small eggplants or 2 large ones
1 lb. penne
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 oz. walnut halves


For the Pesto
2 oz. fresh mint minced
3 oz. walnuts minced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes in oil
Salt and pepper

Procedure
Cut the eggplants into short strips.  Place eggplant strips in a colander with salt and leave to stand for 30 minutes.  Rinse well and drain.  Squeeze to remove excess moisture.  In a pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil and saute' eggplant for few minutes on medium heat.  Set aside.

Cook penne until nearly cooked.  Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.   Put cooked penne back into the pot.  Add reserved water.  Place pasta pot over the stove on low heat.  Add the eggplant, minced mint, garlic, walnuts, red pepper flakes, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Stir gently and mix well.   Cook the pasta for few minutes.  Add walnut halves and serve immediately.

Penne with eggplant and Mint Pesto

All photo Copyright - ©2010 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

Green Beans from the Garden

First fresh string beans of the season! 

Could not wait to savor the flavor and tenderness.....cooked them tonight.

String Beans with Fresh Mint (Fagiolini con Menta)

1 lb. fresh beans
few sprigs of mint
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup olive oil

1. Steam the beans until tender, mince mint and 1 clove of garlic and place over beans
2. Sauté 1 clove of garlic in 1/2 cup of olive oil, add one or two dry hot peppers (optional), salt, black pepper and pour over steamed beans.  Mix well.