If you can't actually make it to Provence this summer, cooking up dishes filled with the flavors of Provence is the next best thing. Even just a sprinkling of herbes de provence is enough to transport you to directly to the French countryside, minus the airfare! How do you use this seasoning in your cooking?
Herbes de provence is a seasoning blend featuring many of the herbs that grow most abundantly in southern France and that correspondingly get used in a lot of the cooking from that region. The blends are typically made from dried herbs and are meant to be an easy short-cut for seasoning dishes.
Which herbs get used and their exact ratio depends on the recipe and the cook, but the most basic blends include savory, rosemary, marjoram, and thyme. Lavender buds are also frequently added, and some blends include fennel seeds, sage, tarragon, and even citrus zest.
Either in a marinade or as a dried rub, herbes de provence make a great seasoning for grilled meats, fish, and vegetables. We also frequently use this blend to season oven-roasted chicken. Also try adding a few pinches to a salad vinaigrette or combining the herbs with good olive oil to make a dipping sauce for fresh bread.
Here are a few recipes to make your own herbes de provence blend!
• Herbes de Provence from The Herb Gardener - a very basic "starter" blend
• Herbes de Provence from Chow.com - with tarragon, orange zest and bay leaf
• Herbes de Provence from the Food Network - with oregano, basil, and fennel
What do you cook with herbes de provence?
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i tried looking for premade bunches of this at the hollywood farmer's market, but didn't have any luck.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/swordfish-panini-with-arugula-and-lemon-aioli-recipe/index.html
this is excellent and versatile. In a pinch, when I don't have an herbs de provence, i've used those jars ralph's jars of italian seasoning. completely different taste because of the basil and oregano, but the recipe is great.
You can use swordfish or chicken. It's delicious any way you make it
The garlic aioli is FRIGGEN GREAT. I make the aioli at least once a month
I like herbs de provence in an omelette with goat cheese. So yummy!
I use the Fresh Direct mix, which includes lavender and fennel seeds. I make a red lentil soup with it that is wonderful. I have a recipe for a butternut squash soup using it (I've always used sage in mine) that I will try.
My daughter gets a huge kick out of finding a tiny purple flower in her soup. I was surprised she liked the flavor, but I think the fun of finding the little seeds and flowers cancels any preschooler flavor aversions.
We buy a mix from a local farm called Herb Lyceum here in MA. It has some lavendar in it along with the other herbs. Excellent for roasted or grilled chicken and i also like it on roasted potatoes.
I mix it into pizza dough
Best recipe with herbs de provence from my German friend is for antipasti. Here's the translated recipe (sorry, I left the metric units):
Vegetables:
3 peppers
1 zucchini
1 eggplant
200 gr. mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
Seasoning:
125 ml olive oil
250 ml sunflower oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
herbs de provence (as much or as little as you want, I use about 1 tsp)
1 tsp salt
0.5 tsp black pepper
1 pinch sugar
Coarsely chop veggies and mix in all ingredients in oven-safe casserole dish. Marinate for about 2 hours. Place in oven at 200C for 30 min. Remove from oven, let it cool a little before serving. Can be served warm or cold.
Just yesterday I used it to make a marinade for tofu. I grilled the tofu with herbes de provence and olive oil, and used it in Mark Bittman's Tofu Provencal dish. It was absolutely excellent
It's great on popcorn!
My mom brought us back a big box after a recent trip to Paris and so far we've enjoyed some delicious chicken and pork... The pictures *almost* show how ridiculously good they are :D
http://marthaandtom.com/2009/06/campfire-chicken/
http://marthaandtom.com/2009/07/pork-with-herbes-de-provence/
Thanks ihadi... popcorn is an awesome idea!
Never heard of Herbs de Provence until I made this chicken dish last month:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Herbed-Balsamic-Chicken-with-Blue-Cheese-353397
Very tasty, though I'd pull back on the blue cheese next time.
Now I need some more recipes that call for the mix, as that little spice jar wasn't cheap and I need to justify the purchase!
We season oven fries with HdP, sea salt and cracked black pepper.
Yum!
dry-cured black olives with herbes de Provence was my introduction. Really amazing. Available at a lot of olive bars.
I was lucky enough to just return from a two week vacation in Provence, France with my family and we came back with bags and bags of Herbs de Provence. My mom uses them in cooking...but since I'm just learning how to cook (21 years old and I still overcook pasta) I'm savoring my herbs. What I DO use them for is in my Rosemary bread. I bought a herb grinder in France and grind up the herbs into the Rosemary bread I bake instead of using the Italian herbs it calls for...and the bread is sooo tasty. My family of 4 will eat two round loaves in one sitting.
If it's French, it gets a shot of herbes de Provence, that's my motto. Unless, I just don't feel like it.
(My cooking style tends to be a little whimsical.)
This is my "go to" herb for just about everything (roasted root veggies, sauces, potatoes, poultry, fish, etc.). My favorite is marinated slices of grilled summer vegetables:
zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, red peppers, squash, etc.; marinate in olive oil, garlic, balsamic (or other) vinegar, s&p, herbes de provence; grill until slightly charred/place back in bowl w/some of the marinade. Eat! (I love this over basmati rice)
The book Pad Parties includes my favorite cocktail nibbly- goat cheese mixed with herbes de provence and stuffed into cherry tomatoes. Add a chive "stem" and it's a divine little cherry bomb.
@Iroquois... that sounds fantastic. (and kinda cute too!)
wow, i forgot all about it. I used to add just a pinch of herbes de provence to my fried eggs when i was twelve :) . It was yummy