‘Herbes de Provence’ is used in most French cooking to season chicken, meats, fish, soups and vegetables. It generally combines oregano, rosemary, thyme, savory, marjoram and French Lavender. Several variations of this classic herb mixture have developed over the years, with two favourites listed here.
Both of these delightful recipe-combinations utilize your pesticide-free home-grown herbs beautifully…For more spice-mix recipes, check betweenclosefriend.com
How to make your own herb-mix recipe for a classic ‘Herbes De Provence’:
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp rosemary
2 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoon summer savory
½ tsp marjoram
1 tsp French Lavender buds
This alternative variation yields approximately ¾ cup of ‘Herbes de Provence’.
1 tsp dried rosemary
3 T dried thyme
3 T dried savory
3 T dried marjoram
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried sage
½ tsp fennel seeds
Combine either variation of the herbs together in a small bowl, mixing together well. Store in a tightly-lidded jar in a cool dark place between uses.
When mixed in with ¼ pound of butter, either variation will yield a real treat! ( When cooking dishes longer than 20 minutes, it is best to use your dried herb-mixes rather than using fresh picked herbs in order to maintain their unique flavourings.)
Note: To draw the full flavour from your home made spice mixtures, heat the ingredients very gently in a dry, heavy frying pan for a few minutes, stirring all the time. Then pound with a mortar and pestle, or grind the ingredients togetherin a small coffee-grinder used exclusively for herbs for a finer powder. When your spice mix is cold, store it in an airtight container in a cool and dark place.
Ideally, your spice mixtures should be prepared just before using them in your cooking and baking. But, it is both useful and more convenient to keep some of your favorite mixtures stored in airtight containers. It is best to make up and store small quantities of your chosen mixes in order to ensure their unique flavours, and that they do not become stale.
Check out the Spice and Herb Mix category of betweenclosefriends.com for recipes of some of the most well-known and used combinations in gourmet cooking throughout the world from standard ‘fines herbes’, ‘bouquet garni’ to sweet spice mixes for cakes, pies, etc. Also included are some unique or hard to obtain recipes using your fresh from the garden herbs and spices, in the ‘Recipe’ category of betweenclosefriends.com blog. Be sure to try your hand at making fresh “Lavender Cookies”, “Bourisin Cheeses”, “Soyamilk”, and other favorites, or soon-to-be favorites!
NOTE: To draw the full flavour from your home made spice mixtures, heat the ingredients very gently in a dry, heavy frying pan for a few minutes, stirring all the time. Then pound or grind the ingredients together. When your spice mix is cold, store it in an airtight container in a cool and dark place.
Ideally, your spice mixtures should be prepared just before using them in your cooking and baking. But, it is both useful and more convenient to keep some of your favorite mixtures stored in airtight containers. It is best to make up and store small quantities of your chosen mixes in order to ensure their unique flavours, and that they do not become stale. Below are some ‘specialty’ mixes, with the universally accepted standard classic combinations of ‘Classic Fresh Herb Cooking Combinations’ recipes following.
Some unique uses of herbs and spices are included in the “Recipe” category of betweenclosefrinds.com blog for your enjoyment and experimentation. You may also wish to check out the herb salt mix combinations, how to make your own mustards, and cheeses— from cream cheese, milk cheese, yogurt cheese and other popular combinations, (particularly my favorite recipe for 4 different Boursin Cheese recipes!), or unique recipes for herbal sugars (including how to candy ginger and blossoms for decorations on platters, cakes, pies, etc), to other of my favourite specific main course recipes, mocktails and desserts.