Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Tuesday at the {herbal} Table

Welcome back to the {herbal} table! I know at least one person besides me has had herbs on her mind this week, and I just have to give her a shout-out. It's Lynne from pieceful, who harvested a big ole bunch of herbs from her garden, dried some for later, and most impressive of all, made her own herb salt. What fun!

                                                                                     photo credit: pieceful used by permission

I've been looking through some of my cookbooks for herbal recipes. (If you need any ideas, I found some tasty-sounding ones on Williams-Sonoma's website too -  there's a whole Cooking with Herbs section!) Meanwhile, here's another dish I made for the company dinner I told you about last week.
It's one of my tried-and-true favorites from Stonewall Kitchen Favorites - Arugula, Prosciutto, and Grilled Asparagus Salad with Lemon-Chive Dressing - a long, detailed name for an easy, uncomplicated recipe. Basically, arrange some arugula on a platter, tuck in some thin-sliced prosciutto, top with roasted asparagus, and then drizzle with a simple chive dressing. Here's the dressing:

Lemon-Chive Dressing
juice of 1 large lemon (about 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tb. minced chives (can also substitute basil)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Obviously, I like to top with some goat cheese; some oil-cured black olives would also be a great add.

And speaking of olives, here's what was next on my list to try - Thyme and Garlic Olives. This one's from a book that's been in my collection a long time, The Herbal Pantry.
It was another easy and fun one to put together - though it's suggested to leave these marinating in the fridge for at least two days, so I'll have to report later how they are. But from the sneak taste I tried last night, things are looking good!
Thyme and Garlic Olive
3/4# black olives (I'm using my favorite kalamatas.)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 Tb. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. peppercorns
olive oil to cover

So now it's your turn to share. If you have an herbal post to share, great. Otherwise, any recipe or table-related project would be perfect! Just link up here.

8 comments:

  1. And I'm back :-) Olives must just be in the air these days because I used them too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh gosh I love asparagus and prosciutto, and that salad looks yummy. Last week I wrapped some asparagus in prosciutto and put it under the broiler...heaven!
    Thanks for the shout-out :) My herbs grew better than my tomatoes this year. Might as well take advantage and dry them for later.
    Pass the olives please!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My mother in law makes this recipe in December.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ooh, I am going to have to give those olives a try!

    ReplyDelete
  5. My husband would love this...I'll definitely have to share with him!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm drooling now after reading this post. Must try it all!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Not only did I buy Mint at the nursery this week, but I also picked up Chives and Thyme! Yea now I can try both recipes. Great post as always. :)

    ReplyDelete