Tuesday, November 13, 2007

herbes de prophète


There are as many recipes for herbes de Provence as there are herb growers, I think. Ultimately, I think it's about what herbs you grow and which you most prefer to use in your every day cooking.

The ones I use are thyme, summer savory, rosemary and sage - in approximately equal proportions. I also add lavender, but only a third of the other-herb measurement. So, for example, 1 tablespoon each of sage, rosemary, thyme and summer savory and 1 teaspoon of lavender.

Some people also add the smaller measurement of either mint or tarragon.

Wash fresh herbs and hang to dry. When they're dry, strip off the leaves & discard stems. Mix the dried herbs together in the proper proportions and store in an airtight container.

I've just harvested the dried lavender and I'll be mixing this year's batch of herbes de prophète soon. I didn't cut the lavender [oops! That's rosemary top left] or sage until just recently, so I have to wait till it's dry. I have enough of last year's blend to get me through Thanksgiving, though, so no worries.

2 comments:

Lemon Stand said...

I SOOOO wish I did not have the black thumb of death! Sigh. What a beautiful picture and description. I can smell them from here. (Sorry it has taken me so long to add your link to my site.) :o)

prophet said...

Thanks L.S.! Hey, I used to tell my mother not to give me anymore rosemary plants because I was tired of feeling guilty about their impending doom because I could not grow rosemary.

What I finally learned about herbs: they thrive on neglect and poor conditions, although they do require sun. Are you killing them with kindness (grin)? (no miracle gro, and only half the water for these Provence-type herbs). Get tough on 'em!