Читать книгу The Essential Aromatherapy Garden - Julia Lawless - Страница 21

AROMATIC RECIPES

The following recipes serve four people, unless otherwise specified.

HERBAL TEAS OR TISANES

Health-giving herbal teas or tisanes can generally be made using either fresh or dried plant material. Dried plant materials are more concentrated: 1 teaspoon of dried material equals about 3 teaspoons of fresh material. Fresh herbs are often more potent and are likely to have a higher medicinal value, but dried plants are more readily available all year round. Whenever possible, infusions should be made using fresh herbs or flowers as soon as they have been picked. Dosage: use 1 teaspoon of dried herb or 3 teaspoons of fresh herb per cup of water. For very young children or elderly people, use half the dosage. Simply place the herb in a china or enamel tea pot and allow to steep for 10 minutes before drinking. For a more concentrated infusion, pour the water into an enamel pan and bring almost to the boil. Add the herbs and retain on the heat for 10 minutes, maintaining the liquid just beneath boiling point. Drink immediately, adding honey to taste as required.

HERBAL VINEGARS AND OILS

Almost all culinary herbs can be used to flavour vinegars and oils. This has been done for centuries, particularly in Mediterranean countries. Some herbs are better suited to flavour vinegars, including basil, bay, chervil, chives, dill, fennel, garlic, juniper, lavender, lovage, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon and thyme. For steeping in oil, the best herbs are basil, bay, chervil, dill, fennel, garlic, juniper, lavender, lovage, marjoram, mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory and thyme.

Marjoram (Origanum majorana) can be used to flavour vinegar and oil.

Hortimages

HERBAL VINEGARS

Use good white wine vinegar. Pound a handful of your favourite herb and bruise it well with the pestle and mortar. Add 550ml (1 pint) vinegar to 1 handful of herbs in a wide-necked jar, then seal. Leave for a week, then strain. Repeat the process if you require a stronger flavour. After the second week, strain off all the leaves and stems, and bottle the vinegar. Finally, add a few fresh sprigs of the herb for identification and a decorative effect.

HERBAL OILS

Follow the method as above, but substitute the white wine vinegar with good-quality virgin olive oil or sunflower oil.

APPLE AND HERB SOUP

500g (1lb) cooking apples, peeled and cored

Celery tops, finely chopped

½ cup brown sugar

Cinnamon

Cloves

Shredded rind and juice of 1 lemon

Fresh salad burnet leaves

Stew the apples, celery, sugar and spices in 550ml (1 pint) water. When the apples are soft, add lemon juice and rind and cook for a few minutes longer. Leave to cool. Before serving, stir in some salad burnet leaves and decorate the soup with a few extra leaves.

PESTO

4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoons ground pine nuts (or walnuts)

3 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

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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)

2 cups grape juice

Lemon juice

1 litre (2 pints) ginger ale

Mint leaves and glacé cherries to garnish

Grind the washed mint leaves in a bowl until soft. Dissolve the caster sugar in boiling water, add to the mint leaves and steep for 10 minutes. Strain off the mint leaves and add grape juice and lemon juice to taste. Check sweetness and if necessary add more caster sugar. Add the ginger ale. Refrigerate until cold. In summer, serve with ice together with fresh mint leaves and glacé cherries as a garnish.

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)

matka_Wariatka

SPICY FRUIT TEA

3 tablespoons whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup dried orange peel

1 cup dried orange mint

1 cup chamomile flowers

2 cups dried lemon verbena leaves

Grind the cloves and cinnamon to a fine mixture. Add to the orange peel and mint, then combine the mixture with the chamomile flowers and lemon verbena leaves. Store in an airtight tin. Add boiling water to the tea in the usual fashion and steep for 10 minutes before drinking.

BORAGE SUMMER WINE

Fresh borage leaves and flowers

White wine

Sugar to taste

Lemon slices

Steep the borage leaves in a small quantity of boiling water. Cool. Strain off the leaves. Add the cucumber-flavoured water to white wine, sweeten with sugar to taste and add a couple of slices of lemon. Serve with blue borage flowers as decoration.