How to keep things fresh and spicy

I have in my kitchen a rather handsome set of six little glass spice and herb jars in a rack. They have little plastic collars around their necks that used to help the stoppers keep them airtight and the glass is coloured an appetising brown to stop daylight damaging their contents.

They are useless. I should have pulled their cute little rack off the wall and binned them years ago, but a friend gave them to me - so what can you do?

My real herb and spice reserve holders are freezer-tough plastic bags with their contents rammed down tightly, the necks wrung into real air-tightness and locked into position with one of those bits of bendy wire which come with the bags. The bags with those easy-wheezy zip locks have the unfortunate habit of coming unzipped but not showing it. I use them for temporary storage of small quantities.

Helping them out are some big old jars with their plastic airtight gaskets still intact. In one of these ready-jars - stored in the fridge - is my greatest herb treasure: wild oregano picked from the mountains of Chios, the island in the Aegean where Homer was born.

'Within a month that herb or spice is dead ...'

A great friend picked every sprig of it for us, and the smell, when you open that jar, is still unbelievably, powerfully fresh after two years of storage. The eventual reserve, rammed tightly into its bag, is in the freezer. And I wish I had a good airtight safe in which to keep the freezer.

All this is designed to point out that huge amounts of your money are wasted on buying herbs and spices, usually ground, and in little plastic bags within little cardboard boxes. You open the box and bag. You extract a teaspoonful of herbs for your dish and close the bag with a fold. Within a month that herb or spice is dead, good only for a whiff of memory from its original greatness.

With the high prices charged for these little packs of flavour, the money you waste mounts up fast.

All right, you say, forget dried, ground herbs. The supermarkets offer little bags of fresh stuff - dhania, basil, fennel, mint and rosemary usually. But at R5 to R15 a bag, bunch or pillow pack, you might as well be buying black truffles flown in from Perigord. And most of these herbs are grown in hydroponic beds with flavours weak and watery.

Solutions: Grow what you can or buy in bulk. We can grow many herbs throughout the year. Sage is not generally happy here - so buy dried sage in sufficient bulk. Any garden can produce a great variety of herbs: stick a sprig of rosemary in the ground, add water and it will grow. Use the phone and find a plant nursery near you that stocks herb seedlings. Buy a pack of nasturtium seeds and let them loose on any sunny corner - you will be cropping their leaves for salads and their buds for caper substitutes within weeks.

'Grow what you can or buy in bulk'

Even a planter pot on a flat's balcony can do wonders for your kitchen. My little clump of lemongrass has quietly replaced every cropped stalk over the last 20 years and added dividends.

Buy spices in bulk and store your surpluses tightly packed and airtight in the freezer or fridge.

The Spice Emporium branches and the Gorima shops are good sources and Indian grocers and vegetable shops have far more realistic prices for spices and herbs.



Three favourite fresh herb recipes


Dhania (Coriander, Cilantro)

I'm often too disorganised to get successive plantings of this marvellous herb into the ground or pots on time.

But whenever I have to buy a bunch, I whizz any left-over in the processor, add a little water and spoon the result into ice cube trays. I transfer the frozen cubes into ziplocks and store in the freezer. Here's my favourite dhania recipe:


Guacamole

1 large or 2 small ripe avocados

1 medium ripe tomato, chopped

1 small onion, chopped.

1 small green chilli,

seeded and chopped

2 tbs chopped dhania

1 tbs lemon juice

2 to 3 tbs light cream

Fresh ground black pepper, salt



1 Remove the avocado flesh with a teaspoon and mash it lightly.

2 Add all other ingredients and stir busily.

3 Serve as a dip or with grilled steaks, chops or hamburgers.



Lemongrass

Many nurseries have clumps of this and will sell you a small starter clump. Its vivid citrus flavour is inimitable. Thump the lower, thick part of the stem with the back of a knife and chop thinly. Get rid of the thin-leafed top. My favourite recipe:


Hot and Sour Small Prawn

Serves 4

1.2 litres chicken stock

4 spring onions chopped thinly

1 small green chilli, seeded

and chopped thinly

3 lemongrass stalks cut

into 2.5cm sections

1 tbs Chinese or Thai fish sauce

A 3cm piece of lime or

lemon peel.

2tbs fresh lime juice.

500g small prawns,

peeled, beheaded and deveined

Chopped spring onions

and dhania for garnish



1 Combine all the ingredients except the prawns and the garnish in a saucepan and bring to boil.

2 Simmer covered over low heat for 20 minutes.

3 Strain and discard the solids.

4 Reheat the soup to simmering.

5 Add the prawns and simmer for one minute.

6 Remove from the heat. Taste for salt. Add the garnish and serve.



Bay Leaves

I bought my bay tree as a one-metre high nursery plant. It is now close to being higher than the house.

The difference between fresh and bought dried bay leaves is about 1 to 4 in flavour production. The new small potatoes in the shops now are perfect for bay leaves.

As well as being the leading ingredient of a bouquet garni for soups and casseroles and the great spud dish (see below), you can make a Greek wreath for your brow in recognition for cooking it.


Bay Leaf Potatoes

Serves 4 to 6

1kg scrubbed new potatoes

cut into 1.5cm slices

2 large garlic cloves chopped.

4 large fresh bay leaves

or 8 dried

Salt and fresh ground

black pepper.

450ml chicken stock

Olive oil



1 Brush a flame-proof casserole dish with olive oil.

2 Put half the potatoes, garlic and bay leaves in as a layer.

3 Brush with olive oil and season.

4 Add the rest as a top layer and season again after brushing with the olive oil.

5 Add the chicken stock, bring to a simmer and then cover, cooking on until the liquid is absorbed and the potatoes tender - about 20 minutes.

6 Discard the bay leaves and any remaining liquid before serving.

• This article was originally published on page 8 of The Sunday Tribune on January 17, 2010

Source : Babynet