Timeless Herb Secrets

Coleslaw in Triple-hot Dressing

With the festive season around the corner this is a great salad for a 'bring and braai' or for a picnic. It improves with standing and is best prepared a day before and left in the refrigerator to allow the flavours to develop. It also travels well in a covered bowl. The triple hotness is supplied by mustard, horseradish and fresh chili peppers.

Serves 6

½ white cabbage, cored and shredded
2 celery sticks, finely sliced
1 red sweet pepper, seeded and finely sliced
4 spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

For the dressing:
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp chopped fresh horseradish or creamed horseradish
2 tsp finely chopped chili peppers
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
5 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Mix the cabbage, celery, sweet pepper and spring onions in a salad bowl.
• Mix the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk to a creamy salad dressing.
• Toss the salad in the dressing and leave to stand for at least an hour, turning once or twice.
• Immediately before serving toss again and garnish with the dill.

Create Your Own Herb and Spice Blends

A question I'm often asked is: "How do you create successful herb and spice blends?"

The answer is simply by studying recipes and watching cooking programs on television. Look for recipes that use more than two herbs, spices or flavourings. These are all blends of herbs and spices that work.

When you study successful recipes and chef's, take special note of the following aspects:

The ingredients - which ingredients make up the blend. The Seasoned Chef calls them "Flavour Pals" and it gives you an indication of which herbs can be used together.

The proportions - the proportions of the different herbs and spices that make up the blend in relation to each other.

The portion size - this will help you develop a feel for how much herbs to add to a dish.

The dish in which the blend is used - this will give you an indication of which herbs go well with which dishes. This gives you an idea of what The Seasoned Chef calls: "Matches Made in Heaven".

When do they add the different herbs - at the beginning or closer to the end? Don't make the mistake of thinking that a blend needs to be added all at once.

Don't fall into the trap of "analysis paralysis" either. Take your notes to the kitchen and put them to the test. Creating culinary delights is more craft than art.

Meaning that you need to experiment. Meaning that you will make your share of mistakes. Meaning that some of your diners will accuse you of trying to poison them. Just remind them that they are fortunate to get such healthy poison, learn from the mistake(s), and move on.

In my experience, we normally give up at a point just before reaching success. Persevere. It is your key to success.

Here are two good tips. Apart from your "study notes" make short written notes of each "experiment" as well. I emphasize written notes, as my "mental notes" have failed me on numerous occasions. Sometimes it can be as simple as changing one proportion in your blend to get compliments galore.

Next, involve everybody in your "experiments." Cooking is a sought after social craft, and you will be doing your children a favour if you let them develop this skill with you. In my experience most children have a "natural gift" for producing culinary delights. Why? Simply because they have inquisitive minds and they don't mind taking risks - they like to be adventurous.

What is keeping you from developing your full potential in the kitchen? How can you overcome that? What will you do in the next seven days?

Make Your Own herbes de Provence

In a previous post I shared a recipe to make your own bouquet garni. Another great French blend is herbes de Provence which is often sold dried in little terracotta pots topped with the patterned cloth, or in brightly coloured bags of the same material. If you make herbes de Provence with fresh herbs I can guarantee that you will get compliments galore each and every time you use it.

Here's how to make your own herbes de Provence…

Mix one tablespoon each of finely chopped fresh oregano, savory, thyme, marjoram and rosemary.

This traditional French blend will add real French flavour to any Provencal dish. If you're not into French cuisine use it to complement your salads, vegetables, meat dishes and even hot desserts.

Never limit yourself to just one or two blends. Even if they are powerful in their own right you don't want to be accused of being a boring cook. Don't only look at French cuisine either. Study your own cookbooks and watch the celebrity chefs on television.

Look for recipes that use more than three herbs, spices or flavourings. Remember. For the best results never limit yourself to only one or two herbs per dish. Rather use three or four, plus a spice or two. It's the secret to greater depth in your finished dishes.

Foreign visitors to South Africa are often taken aback when they sample dishes like bobotie for the first time. The curiously tasty mixture of sweet and savoury is a legacy from the Malay cooks who adapted oriental recipes, and used local ingredients to create a new and unique culinary tradition.

Be patient with yourself and you will develop your own tried and tested herb and spice blends that you can use with just about everything. I love infusing my blends in vinegar and olive oil as well. That way they become truly universal, and they are popular gifts.

But don't just copy successful blends…

Take your culinary adventure one step further. Start changing proportions, next try to add, delete or substitute the ingredients in your blend recipe.

Which of your current recipes will benefit from a generous helping of herbes de Provence? Who can you invite to share this culinary adventure with you?

When will you become a Seasoned Chef?