Our tomato plants and herbs are growing like crazy and we've had some great food as a result! It has been a little over a month since we planted them and it is amazing how big our tomato plants are! We haven't been able to enjoy those yet, but I have been using the herbs a lot! Here are some pictures of the progression and I also thought I would share a few of our favorite recipes with our fresh herbs! More of these to come I'm sure!
With these few recipes, you don't have to use fresh herbs, but the FRESHNESS of the herbs, lemon, garlic... that's what makes them so yummy! And, if you live nearby, I'd love to SHARE some herbs...we can never use all of what we have! I'll offer the tomatoes soon enough!
Enjoy and feel free to share any of your favorite recipes with fresh herbs!
Grilled Herb Shrimp
Copyright 2001, Barefoot Contessa Parties!
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds large shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), peeled and deveined
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, small-diced
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
DirectionsCombine all the ingredients and allow them to marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Skewer the shrimp. I use 3 or 4 shrimp on a 12-inch skewer for dinner. Heat a grill with coals and brush the grill with oil to prevent the shrimp from sticking. Grill the shrimp for only 1 1/2 minutes on each side. (We did this on a grill pan and that works great too)
Pesto
Copyright, 2001, Barefoot Contessa Parties!, All rights reserved
Serves: 4 cups
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
DirectionsPlace the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.
Notes: Air is the enemy of pesto. For freezing, pack it in containers with a film of oil or plastic wrap directly on top with the air pressed out.
To clean basil, remove the leaves, swirl them in a bowl of water, and then spin them very dry in a salad spinner. Store them in a closed plastic bag with a slightly damp paper towel. As long as the leaves are dry they will stay green for several days.
(I froze this in ice trays and now have lots of "pesto cubes" in the freezer that I can take out "as needed"!)
Lemon-Thyme Chicken
Serves: 4 servings
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half crosswise
1 lemon
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for frying
4 fresh thyme sprigs
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
DirectionsPut the chicken into a shallow dish. Grate the zest from the lemon over the chicken. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze over the juice. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil along with the thyme, and garlic. Mix everything together so the chicken is well coated with all the flavorings. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes, or refrigerate for up to 4hours.
When you are ready to cook, remove the chicken from the marinade, scrape off the herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and put a thin coating of olive oil into it. Cook the chicken, working in batches if necessary, until it is golden brown and cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes.
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