grow | thyme

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Thyme, with all its delightful foliage and flavour variants, makes a beautiful addition not just to your recipes but also as a perennial in your garden.  There are so many types, from ‘Silver Posy’, a white edged leaf form, to golden leafed forms, some that smell like lemons or oranges and others that make pizza come alive.

All are only small growers, getting about 20cm tall at best, and others, like woolly thyme, growing perfectly flat and able to be walked upon like a groundcover.  In fact, with stepping stones between them, thyme lawns are a delightful way of finishing areas around paving or pathways.

Success with your thyme is dependent on three things. 1. Thyme needs good drainage. 2. It has to have plenty of sunshine. 3. An annual top dressing of lime makes the soil pH alkaline enough to be able to thrive.  In other ways, thyme is easily grown, drought tolerant, mostly cold tolerant and able to be harvested year round.

Try to pick your thyme before it flowers in summer, just so you have more delicious leaves.  Early morning harvesting is best, and scissors are ideal as they cut cleanly.  Regularly trimming means that your stems are not too tough, and it will encourage bushy regrowth.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | thyme

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:

Wrap picked thyme in damp kitchen paper and place in a plastic bag. Refrigerate for up to 1 week.

What to do with glut

• Freeze

Place whole sprigs in a resealable plastic bag. Freeze for up to 1 month. The leaves will discolour and the flavor will be slightly more mild, however it is far superior to using dried thyme.

• Preserve

Add thyme to pickles, onion jam, vinegar and flavoured oils.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

cook | thyme

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Thyme & parmesan crumbed chicken

1 cup grated parmesan
1½ cups fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsp thyme leaves
500g chicken tenderloins
¼ cup plain flour
1 egg
¼ cup olive oil
mashed potato, salad, to serve

1. Mix together parmesan, breadcrumbs and thyme. Dust chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Whisk egg and 1 tbsp water in a shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg and then breadcrumb mixture, pressing down to coat.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium. Cook chicken for 2-3 mins each side, until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
3. Serve with mashed potato and salad.

Serves 4

Tip
Prepare chicken ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to cook. Crumbed chicken can also be frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator and cook as above.

try this …….
Thyme roasted tomatoes
Halve roma tomatoes, lengthways. Lay, cut-side up on a baking tray. Drizzle with a little olive, season and scatter over thyme leaves. Bake at 180C or 160C fan for 30-45 mins, until tomatoes have just collapsed. Serve with grilled steak or chicken.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | dill

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Some people only know dill as an insult, yet dill is nothing to hide.  In fact, it’s delicious, both as foliage and as a seed for flavouring.  It is a little difficult to grow, with a tendency in warmer climates to flower then seed prematurely and leave you bitter, less palatable leaves.

The trick is to only sow it from seeds directly into the soil, rather than transplant it from seedling, as the seeds seem to take better, and any transplant shock or stress will trigger it to bolt into bloom.  In summer, so your dill seeds in a partially protect area, as heat stress can also cause it to flower early.

It’s fast too, with a plant going from seed to maturity in about 8 weeks, so stagger your seed sowing by a few months so that you have successive crops of foliage germinating and handy for the kitchen.  Keep feeding with liquid fertiliser every 2-3 weeks, and pinch prune out any flowers as they appear, unless you are wanting the dill seeds.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | dill

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:

Once picked dill wilts very quickly. Spray lightly with water, wrap in damp kitchen paper then seal in a plastic bag. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.

What to do with glut

• Preserve

Dill mayonnaise

2 egg yolks
2 tsp lemon juice
100ml olive oil
100ml vegetable oil
2 tbsp chopped dill

1. Place yolks, lemon juice and a pinch of salt into a small food processor. Process until thickened. With motor running add combined oils in a slow thin stream, until mayonnaise is thick and creamy. Add dill and pulse to combine. Taste for seasoning.
Store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | rocket

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:

Rocket is best picked just before using, however if you do need to store rinse well and place in a plastic resealable bag. Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.

What to do with glut

• Preserve

Rocket & pine nut pesto

Wash and dry 1 bunch of rocket. Place in a food processor with ¾ cup of grated parmesan, ¼ cup toasted pine nuts and 1 chopped garlic clove. Process until finely chopped. Season well, add ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil and process until smooth. Transfer to a sterilized jar, cover the surface with a little extra oil and seal. Store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Use as a spread on bruschetta or as a sauce for pasta or gnocchi.

Makes 2 cups

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

cook | rocket

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Rocket & olive salad with crisp haloumi

1 bunch rocket, ends trimmed, halved
250g grape tomatoes, halved
2 lebanese cucumbers, quartered, seeded, chopped
1 red capsicum, sliced
1 small red onion, halved, thinly sliced
½ cup pitted black olives
½ cup mint leaves, torn
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
180g haloumi, thickly sliced
1 tbsp plain flour

1. Place rocket, tomato, cucumber, capsicum, onion, olives and mint in a large bowl.
2. Mix together extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and sugar.
3. Heat olive oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium. Dust haloumi slices in flour, shaking off excess. Cook haloumi, turning, for 2-3 mins, until golden all over.
4. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to combine. Serve with haloumi.

Serves 4

Tip
Haloumi is best eaten immediately after being cooked, that way the outside remains crisp and the inside soft.

try this …….
Wilted rocket in balsamic with steak
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan on medium. Add 2 bunches rocket. Cook for 1-2 mins, until just wilted. Add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Simmer for 1 min, until vinegar is syrupy. Serve alongside chargrilled beef.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS