spring eating: herbs!
dill and basil and cilantro, oh my.
I say “spring!” You say “tender, green herbs!” No? Not familiar with that one?
Truly - is there anything lovelier than a homecooked meal covered with fresh herbs? Spring means the return of fresh produce (including leeks! which I have written about here). All the best spring meals - pesto over pasta, a cheesy quiche, a great, fresh salad - rely heavily on herbs.
While I absolutely love eating and preparing food with fresh greens, what I don’t absolutely love is the food waste that can come with it. How many times have you bought a big ol’ bunch of cilantro for a recipe, used about a third of it, and proceeded to toss it in the trash a week later after it has gone brown and mushy? I have done that countless times (although I do always compost my mushy greens). In recent years, I have gotten better at planning my weekly meals to use the same herb multiple times in order to use them up. (I shared a bit about this in my week of winter meals post.) Still I find myself dumping the last of a bunch in the compost more often than I’d like.
Along with my occasionally-rotting-herbs issue, I also have a kitchen window issue. Namely that my kitchen window is about 6 feet tall starting at the floor (also very narrow) and looks out directly onto a public sidewalk and parking area. It’s east-facing and while I love the morning sun it lets in, I don’t love making daily eye contact with my neighbors walking 2 feet away while they get a head-to-toe view of me in my morning pajamas.
Enter… a homemade hanging plant shelf! Not only do the window-spanning shelves create some privacy while letting the light in, they are also home to nine pots ideal for growing fresh herbs. To make the shelf, we screwed in two eye hooks above the window frame, hung ropes from either side, and tied on three boards cut just perfectly to hold three little terracotta pots each. In typical fashion, the shelf was finished more than a month ago and I’m just getting some herbs going now. I picked up pots of basil and cilantro right at my grocery store, and this lovely dill has just sprung out of the soil (my first from-seed success!) I also hopefully have tarragon, mint and chives on the way too. Fingers crossed!
In honor of bringing some fresh grown herbs into my life this spring, I thought I would share a few favorite herb-y recipes:
Radish salad with mint
I am not a huge radish lover but my CSA has inspired me to get creative with them the last few years. This is my tastiest way to eat up a bunch of radishes and it really tastes like spring.
Slice or chop radishes into even bite-size pieces. Place into a bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon.
Sprinkle with salt (flaky salt is perfect here!)
Roughly chop a small handful of fresh mint leaves. Scatter over the top of the radishes.
Tzatziki
I have made quite a few tzatziki recipes over the years and I have yet to meet one I don’t like. Fresh yogurt, citrus and dill? You really can’t go wrong here. The key is to taste as you go and keep adding a hint more salt or lemon until it tastes absolutely amazing to you.
Scoop several large spoonfuls of plain, full-fat yogurt into a bowl. (I love Greek Gods Plain Traditional Yogurt).
Roughly chop a handful of fresh dill. Find your perfect ratio for this! I can never get enough dill personally, so I would chop around 1/2 bunch from the grocery store and add it to roughly 1 cup of yogurt. Stir dill into your yogurt.
Squeeze in fresh lemon juice. Don’t be precious about the amount. You can always add more lemon later, or more yogurt if it comes out too acidic.
Add a sprinkle of salt, several cracks of pepper, and stir to evenly distribute the dill, lemon, salt and pepper.
Taste. Is it amazing? Try adding a little more lemon, a little more salt, or a little more pepper. Anything too strong? You can always thin it out with a little more yogurt.
Once you have hit your perfect ratio, enjoy! Tzatziki is great with pita chips, pita, carrot sticks, cucumber slices, on a green salad, or with any grilled meat or vegetables.
I also have to mention pesto - the ultimate spring flavor with fresh basil absolutely singing through. I’ll need to keep growing my plants quite a bit more to make a batch from my kitchen basil, more pesto/basil/herb updates to come! What spring dishes are you loving at this time of year? Do you have a favorite herb-y recipe? I’d love to hear it!
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