Herbs With Meat: 6 Great Ways To Use Herbs In The Kitchen
Growing herbs at home, whether in the garden or indoors, is a wonderful way to breathe some life into your diet.
Dried herbs are a poor substitute for the real thing. It does not take much effort to start a small herb garden. Choose the ones that you use most often when cooking. Save money and enjoy the benefits of an abundance of fresh herbs to set off any dish.
We want to outline some tasty and practical recipes to show you just how much taking the time to start a herb garden can pay dividends.
Cooking meats with herbs
We will look today at 6 great herb recipes using some fantastic herb and meat combinations.
Contents
1) Spaghetti Bolognese
Credit via www.goodtoknow.co.uk
Bolognese sauce is an Italian classic sometimes called ragu.
Adding some strong and aromatic fresh herbs like oregano, basil and bay really
An added advantage of Bolognese is that it works best being simmered for a long time at a low temperature so it’s ideal if your dinner guests are slightly late!
Tip: Although this dish is almost always made with spaghetti, try using tagliatelle instead. This type of pasta is slightly thicker than spaghetti and works very well with the Bolognese sauce.
Ingredients
- Fresh basil leaves (4)
- Fresh oregano (3 sprigs)
- Bay leaf
- Extra virgin olive oil (3 tbsp)
- Salt and black pepper
- Large onion finely chopped
- Celery stick finely chopped
- Streaky bacon (175g, diced)
- Garlic (1-2 cloves, crushed)
- Lean minced beef (400g)
- Tomato paste (2 tbsp)
- Canned tomatoes (400g)
- Red wine (150ml)
- Fresh Parmesan (1/2 cup)
- Cooked pasta to serve
Directions
- Heat your oil and fry up onion, celery and bacon on medium heat 3-5 mins stirring occasionally
- Add garlic and minced beef. Cook until meat browned
- Add tomato paste and stir in. Throw in tomatoes and wine. Stir into thick sauce
- Season with salt and pepper, add herbs and bring to boil
- Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour
- Serve with the cooked pasta and sprinkle with fresh Parmesan
2) Lemon and Tarragon Poussins
Credit via for-forks-sake.blogspot.co.uk
A poussin is a delicate baby chicken.
The fragrance of fresh lemon and tarragon will set these tender birds off perfectly!
Ingredients
- Poussins (2)
- Fresh tarragon (4 sprigs)
- Extra virgin olive oil (1 tbsp)
- Lemon rind
- Lemon juice (1 tbsp)
- Butter ( tbsp)
- Garlic (1 clove, crushed)
- Salt and black pepper
- Orange slices
Directions
- Prepare poussins. Put breast-side down on chopping board. Cut them through backbone and crush them to break bones. Season with salt
- Turn poussins over. Put sprig of tarragon under skin on each side. Brush with oil
- Cook under pre-heated grill 15 mins. Turn them over halfway
- Melt butter in saucepan, add lemon rind and juice along with garlic
- Brush poussins with the glaze you just made and cook 15 mins more. Turn them once and brush regularly
- Garnish with tarragon and serve with new potatoes
3) Pork, Sage and Cider Casserole
credit via www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk
With strong-tasting meats like beef and pork, pungent herbs like sage are an excellent choice.
Fresh sage leaves have a peppery taste and bay leaves bring out the taste of the meat perfectly.
Sage adds a fresh and spicy undertone to this tried and tested combination.
Ingredients
- Pork steaks (4)
- Cooking apple Sunflower
- Peeled, cored and chopped)
- Large onion, finely chopped
- Plain flour (50g)
- Dry cider (450ml)
- Salt and black pepper
Directions
- Remove fat from pork and cut into small pieces. Heat oil, cook pork cubes until brown then remove
- Sprinkle apple pieces over the meat and place in casserole
- Fry onion until soft, add sage leaves and flour and stir together
- Pour cider over and stir until thickened nicely
- Season with salt and pepper, stir everything together and cover casserole with lid
- Cook 45 mins at 180 degrees
- Serve with mashed potatoes, green beans and mustard
4) Pan Fried Lamb With Rosemary and Garlic
Credit via www.epicurious.com
Do you ever fancy something special when you are home alone?
If so, consider this succulent lamb dish with the ingredients here for just one person. Scale them up if you are cooking for more and want to share!
Ingredients
- Lamb chop
- Bullet Point 2
- Extra virgin olive oil (2 tbsp)
- Salt and black pepper
- Garlic (2 cloves, crushed)
- (75ml)crushed)
- Single cream (30ml)
Directions
- Rinse lamb chop under cold water and dry. Season with salt and pepper
- Heat oil in pan and fry chop 5-10 mins on medium heat
- Sprinkle rosemary leaves and garlic on top and fry 1 min turning chop once or twice
- Pour the red wine over and bring to boil. Turn down heat and simmer 10 mins
- Remove from heat, add cream and stir gently
- Serve with some potatoes and fresh veg
5) Chicken With Tarragon and Cream Sauce
Credit via www.williams-sonoma.com
Tarragon has a very potent taste with an almost minty flavor.
Chicken tends to be rather bland so pep it up with your fresh tarragon. Choose free-range organic meat if you can find some and it’s within budget.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts (2)
- Sunflower oil (2 tbsp)
- Shallot, finely chopped
- Garlic (1 clove, crushed)
- Salt and black pepper
- Lemon juice (1 tsp)
- Single cream (150ml)
Directions
- Wash, dry and slice chicken pieces
- Heat oil over medium heat and add chicken. Turn them until browned lightly
- Add garlic, shallot and season. Cook and turn 5 mins
- Sprinkle over tarragon leaves and add lemon juice. Cook on low heat 10 mins
- Remove from heat, stir in cream
- Serve with baby new potatoes and steamed carrots
6) Pork Chops With Fennel and Juniper
Credit via cook-coquus.com
This is a basic dish which can benefit strongly from the contrasting flavors of fennel and juniper.
Once again, you can really get some mileage out the herbs that you grow and transform even ordinary meals into something more special.
Ingredients
- Pork chops (4)
- Fennel (1/2 bulb)
- Juniper berries (1 tbsp, lightly crushed)
- Extra virgin olive oil (2 tbsp)
- Orange rind and juice, finely grated
Directions
- Chop the fennel bulb
- Grind up juniper berries and mix with fennel, olive oil and orange rind
- Score some fine cuts in pork chops
- Place chops in ovenproof dish, add fennel and juniper mixture then pour over orange juice. Cover and marinate in fridge 2 hours
- Cook chops under pre-heated grill 10-15 mins turning occasionally
- Plate up and serve with salad and fresh bread
Conclusion
Whether it’s a complex and tricky meal or something simple like Bolognese, pretty much anything tastes better when infused with fresh herbs.
We hope you found something you’d like to try here and our following article will give you 6 more great ideas for cooking with fish.
If you want to use herbs in the kitchen then start growing some today!
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