What Are Herbs and How Can I Use Them?
If herbs have turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use them with confidence and how to choose them, cook them, store them, what to substitute, and 139 recipes to try them in.
What are herbs?
Herbs have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual usage. General usage differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs.
In medicinal or spiritual use any of the parts of the plant might be considered "herbs", including leaves, roots, flowers, seeds, resin, root bark, inner bark (cambium), berries and sometimes the pericarpor other portions of the plant.
Where found
Herbs are usually found in the produce section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
| In Chinese: | 草药 | |
| British (UK) term: | ||
| en français: | herbes | |
| en español: | hierbas |
Recipes using herbs
There are 139 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Gazpacho (Salad Soup)
Classic gazpacho, the chilled Spanish salad soup, with fresh tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, olive oil and white wine vinegar. No cooking required, just blend and chill.
Homemade Goat Cheese Goodness
This is so easy to make you won’t believe it. This is coming from me who could ruin the easiest of recipes.
Japanese Pumpkin Frittata Served with Bush Tomato Chutney
Japanese-style Frittata seasoned with Australian native spices and served with Australian Bush Tomato Chutney.
Herbed Mashed Potatoes
Our family all love mashed potatoes, we try different kinds of mashed potatoes, this herbed ones are very nice too.
Salmon Fillet with Dilled Potatoes
Quick, easy and delicious. The creamy potato salad was a great side dish to serve with dilly salmon, and we had all the goodness our bodies needed as well. A perfect dinner on a busy weekday.
Master Frittata-Frittata DIY
An easy and tasty frittata. It's also a great way to use up your leftover vegetables from the day before to make a delicious breakfast. It's very versatile, you can pretty much add any veggies or cooked chicken, or seafood, etc...
Puree of Tomato Soup
Silky pureed tomato soup made from fresh over-ripe tomatoes, slow-sweated onions, garlic, white wine and fresh herbs. Strained twice for a smooth, skin-and-seed-free bowl. Naturally vegan, no cream, with optional fresh mozzarella.
Chick Pea Salad with Garlic-Cumin Vinaigrette
A scrumptious salad made with chickpeas and jalapeno peppers that's served with a delicious vinaigrette.
Pan Seared Scallops & Fennel Over Soba Noodles
Pan-seared scallops with fennel over soba noodles plates golden-crusted scallops on Japanese buckwheat noodles in a Pernod and orange pan sauce. East-meets-West restaurant plating at home.
Wood-Grilled Trout with Mission Fig Compound Butter
Beer pairing suggestion: American India pale ale or amber ale. The Stone World Bistro & Gardens, in Escondido, California, serves wood-grilled trout with black mission fig butter to make it taste even milder and sweeter. Mission figs are available in the dried fruit section of most large supermarkets. Untreated wood planks for grilling are available in grilling and barbecue sections of hardware store s as well as some supermarkets.
Oven Roasted Chicken With New Potatoes
Easy to prepare, and the chicken comes out succulent. A delicious weekend meal.
Focaccia with Tomato & Cheese
Bread machine focaccia topped with tomato, mozzarella, and prosciutto, finished with fresh basil and Parmesan. Italian appetizer bread, sliceable for sandwiches.
Herbed Pan Gravy
An incredibly tasty gravy, you can use the giblets or just some chicken stock if your prefer. My mother likes to use both beef and chicken stock to improve the color of the gravy.
Mediterranean Omelette
An amazing omelette with a bruschetta-like stuffing. Pleasing to the eye and incredibly satisfying to the belly. Makes for an impressive Sunday brunch sure to please.
Piroshki
Piroshki: golden Russian stuffed buns of soft yeast dough wrapped around savory beef, mushroom, or buckwheat fillings, then baked or fried. The portable hand pie of Russian home cooking.
Piroshki
Piroshki: golden Russian stuffed buns of soft yeast dough wrapped around savory beef, mushroom, or buckwheat fillings, then baked or fried. The portable hand pie of Russian home cooking.
Menai Pride Mussels
Menai Pride mussels pate baked in a bain-marie with herring roe, brandy, double cream, and egg yolks. A traditional Welsh seafood starter served with toast fingers.
Tofu Provencal Club Sandwich
Marinated tofu club sandwich on whole wheat French bread with bell peppers, red onion, arugula, and homemade basil mayo. Herb-infused, no cooking required, and packed with Provencal flavor.
Lamb Shoulder in Pastry
Lamb shoulder in pastry, a British-style boneless lamb roast wrapped in flaky pastry and baked golden. A traditional Sunday-dinner centerpiece with countryside roots.
Georgia's Onion Soup
Southern onion soup ladles a wine-laced caramelized onion broth over crumbled cornbread and cheese, swapping the French baguette croutons for proper Southern cornbread. A Georgia twist on a classic.
"Gotta Go!" Soup
Leftover vegetable soup pureed smooth with chicken broth and seasoned with Tabasco, herbs, and a touch of cream. The thrifty cleanout-the-fridge soup that turns leftovers into something genuinely good.
Lobster Dome
Lobster dome with lobster meat, new potatoes, haricots verts, and Roma tomatoes in lobster American sauce, sealed under golden puff pastry and finished with truffle oil.
Mixed Bean Salad with Tofu.
Light mixed bean salad with green beans, broad beans, kidney beans, and firm tofu tossed in lemon juice and served with a fresh herb fromage frais dressing. A low-fat vegetarian side dish ready in 15 minutes.
