and when you want a simple supper herbs
are perfect to use in your cooking they
add vibrancy and amazing depth of flavor
and once you get the hang of them they
are so quick and simple to use and one
woman who really knows these chef's best
friends is expert herb grower lorraine
melton
i love herbs i love the way you can cook
with them i love the smell of them
she's been growing an incredible array
of herbs in the wet cambridgeshire
countryside for over 20 years and can
smell a bay from a basil at 50 paces we
grow about 150 varieties of herbs it's
always interesting to grow new varieties
see what they taste like see what they
smell like it gets a bit addictive after
a while
broadly speaking you get harder herbs
and softer herbs softer herbs are things
like parsley basil rocket coriander
we grow um two main types of parsley
we've got flat leaf parsley and curly
parsley flavour-wise i think they're
very similar although a lot of people
would say that the flat leaf parsley has
got a stronger more aromatic flavour
this is your common basil sweet
genevieves this is a purple variety
called ruben we do greek basil thai
basil holy basil when you're looking for
a basil you want a bright fresh basil
nice leaves no blemishes and nice strong
stems it's got a lot of oils in it and
it's very strong smelling it just tastes
a summer basil
lorraine certainly knows her stuff and
she's right soft herbs are delicate so
for maximum flavor always use them at
the end of cooking or simply add as they
are to cold dishes
here are my top five soft herbs that i
could never live without
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basil as lorraine said it comes in many
types all with an amazing sweet punch
and flavor great blitzed in pestos
sprinkled whole over mozzarella and
showing its versatility it even makes a
wonderful ice cream
parsley beautifully earthy and intensely
fresh use both the leaves and the stem
for great depth of flavour in savey
dressing soups and salads
coriander for an amazing hint of citrus
often used in thai dishes coriander is
perfect in curries and chutneys but it
bruises easily so treat it with care
tarragon a staple of french cooking this
has long soft green leaves and a
distinct anti-seed flavor great with
chicken or in rich creamy sauces
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finally chervil both mild and sweet a
perfect pairing with fish an incredible
mix simply with melted butter for a
quick sauce those are my favorite soft
herbs what about the hard ones
the harder ones tend to be
a more woody plant things like thyme
rosemary you've got your common time
which is your ordinary general bog
standard cooking time and then you've
got things like lemon thyme we do an
orange thyme which is actually one of my
favorites it smells like thyme but it's
got a deep sort of musky scent as well
which is going to give you a slightly
different flavor in your dish
hard herbs like thyme can take more
intense cooking than soft herbs so
they're great in stews roast or pan
frying choose the right one and you can
add wonderful depth of flavor to your
dishes here are my top five i use day in
and day out
rosemary amazingly robust with great
bittersweet green leaves it's a classic
paired with lamb delicious sprinkled
over speciality breads like focaccia or
great as toppings for fruity sorbets
lorraine's favorite thyme a heady
aromatic pungent herb which adds
delicious flavor to a sandy roast it's
amazing with wild mushrooms and is
perfect in marinades
oregano warm and full of delicious
aromatic oils a staple of great italian
dishes and perfect sprinkled on pizzas
or in pasta sauces
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sage a strong tasting herb with a
deliciously bitter flavour incredible in
stuffings and with rich meats like pork
or duck
finally bae bitter sweet and spicy it's
delicious simmered in soups stocks and
risottos and just as good dried or fresh
grown herbs is a lot easier than people
think it is on winter boxes in balconies
and it's great you can just open your
window put your hand out and snip some
off when you're out looking for hers
make sure they're nice and healthy no
blemishes stems look strong they should
just spring back it's a nice springy
sort of herbs smell obviously is quite
important not all things smell but
obviously if you think it's one that's
going to smell like lemon thyme you
should have a nice fresh lemon scent and
obviously the final one is taste you can
tip a bit off
and taste your herbs and you can see
what they taste like them
whether bought from a supermarket or pig
from your window box herb's a great way
to add fresh flavors to your dishes
perfect for delicious simple suppers i
love this recipe why
because it turns this humble ingredient
a can of tuna into something delicious
just
open up
and drain the tuna into a sieve
just lightly flake that
don't press it too hard otherwise you'll
dry out the tuna
now these are water's chestnuts
just slice them nice and thin
you can buy them anywhere any
supermarket
chestnuts in
fresh ginger
get rid of that rough skin on the
outside
by grating the ginger you get to get all
that really nice
sort of juice
in
take your spring onions and just slice
on an angle i like the texture of the
water chestnut
with a spring onion
or touch of fresh coriander
lovely
next remove the seeds from a chili to
reduce its heat without losing any
flavor
and finely chop
chilis in
kaffir lime leaves
roll them up
nice and tight
run your knife down the center
and just chop
and that makes the fish cake nice and
fragrant
touch of salt
a touch of pepper
fish sauce
just lightly season
the tuna
to bind all those wonderful ingredients
two whole eggs
and give that a nice little whisk
and then
add your eggs get your hands in there
and start mixing
get the mixture
roll it hand to hand
and the palm pat them down nicely
to cook add a little ground oil to a hot
pan
at the face of a clock i'm going to go
from 12 all the way around
first one in
these fish cakes only take a few minutes
to cook so keeping track of the order
they go in the pan means you know which
one to turn first
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give the pan a nice gentle little shake
make sure that nothing's sticking to the
bottom
spatula
two fingers on top turn them over
beautiful that crackling noise is
something you always want because the
tune's already cooked so we're just
lightly frying them and get a nice crisp
outside
gently
take them out
smell
incredible
let them sit there we're gonna make a
really nice delicious simple dipping
sauce start off
a little pinch of sugar fish sauce
two tablespoons that gives it the
saltiness
one tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
and some fresh lime juice
squeeze all that lime in there your
fresh coriander
lots of coriander and then
give that
a little mix
and then you have the most amazing spicy
tuna fish cakes who would have thought
something as delicious as that can come
out of a can a simple supper in minutes
that's so mouth-wateringly easy and
delicious you're guaranteed to cook it
again and again
you