I love fresh herbs, and it is really hard to choose one favorite, but I would have to say that my favorite fresh herb is sage. I love the soft, fuzzy texture. The earthy smell. The silvery-green color. And the taste. It's just not stuffing without sage. Roast potatoes are so wonderful with it. You can fry it. It can be made into pesto.
My second runner-up is fresh tarragon, that piquant hard-to-find herb with a slight anise taste. It gives my salads and marinades a special something. It can be infused in cocktails and pairs well with strawberry in jam.
What is your favorite fresh herb?
P.S. Before you ask, the red poppy creamer was found in a small antique store in the French Alps ...
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Quick Tip: Save Leftover Herbs in Ice Cubes
Recipe: Herb Butter
(Image: Kathryn Hill)
For me, Sage runs a close second to rosemary, both of which I have growing on my windowsill.
view empresscallipygos's profile
Cilantro
view Kate (NC)'s profile
I love flat leaf parsley for it's fresh flavor that can put a garden flavor into any dish. Goes with nearly any type of food, but most often I slow-cook garlic in olive oil and throw on some pasta, then it's just lemon, asiago, pepper, salt, and parsley.
view mangabanga's profile
i don't usually cook much with thyme (we're a big cilantro and basil family), but i bought some recently for a recipe (garlic soup from 101cookbooks) and have been loving finding ways to use it...in a lemony mushroom risotto, sprinkled over roasted sweet potatoes, in scrambled eggs...definitely a current favorite!
view rachpie's profile
Basil.
Although, mint is a close second. It makes my spare bedroom smell wonderful.
view sherrme's profile
Cilantro
view GracieE's profile
Basil, followed closely by rosemary.
view kestrel127's profile
flat leaf parsley, hands down. it adds brightness to everything!
view shannona's profile
Living in an apartment and being dirt poor I don't get much in the way of fresh herbs, but when I do I usually go for cilantro. It has such a strong flavor that a little bit can go a long way. I use it with some lime juice in rice, or I mix it in with salsa or guacamole.
view TipsyMongoose's profile
Since I'm named after it, Rosemary has to be my hands down favorite with sage and basil tying for second.
view rosebud's profile
parsley. parsley. parsley.
I will say though, I now know how someone can vehemently hate an herb. I once had a kitchen failure with a particularly bad soup using a Bittman recipe that featured sage. I can't smell sage now without wanting to wretch.
view Amandica's profile
THYME, hands down.
I use it in everything and it's so easy to grow.
view keltrue's profile
My favorite is rosemary, but then sage! Fried sage is my secret weapon.
view cptmoll's profile
Although I just clicked on your fried sage link, and it's quite different than how I have done it before. I use the technique in this salmon recipe:
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/19/nyregion/food-the-subtle-flavor-of-fried-sage.html
and it is awesome.
view cptmoll's profile
and here I thought I'd be the odd one out with this "boring" response.... PARSLEY!
I love love love flat leaf parsley. I love it more in large quantities. I add an entire bunch of it into my spinach soup and spinach dip... I also prefer parsley pesto to traditional basil pesto.....
It's such a lovely herb.
view modern on long island's profile
Thai basil!
view gleam's profile
DILL.
0.000000000001 seconds behind it would be Cilantro!
view Tara blogs about everything's profile
Basil for me!
view danze's profile
Nothing makes me happier than fresh basil. Its magic :)
view HollyLively's profile
Coriander, basil, tarragon.
view buda's profile
ITALIAN PARSLEY!!
view aub's profile
Top choice: Basil. Second: other types of basil :-) Third: Cilantro.
I've got an overgrowth of sage and rosemary. I like them but don't eat them in quantity. And they've grown like crazy this year!
view kelleyk's profile
Oh, basil. I could marry basil. Dill, sage, rosemary, thyme, and just about every other fresh herb have special places in my heart. But when I smell fresh basil, it's just bliss.
view matchbookhymnal's profile
I'm in the basil camp. I usually plant a minimum of 4 sweet/Genovese plants every year, and then try a new variety. Previous varieties have been Thai basil, one with a red leaf that I don't know the name of and lemon basil. Maybe going to try cinnamon basil next year. I love most fresh herbs but basil is the king.
view gardensimple's profile
Another vote for basil (and cilantro as the runner-up).
Onepot
http://onepot.wordpress.com
view Onepot's profile
Rosemary, 2nd runner up--Thyme.
view Charlotte's profile
can't name a favorite- like them for different reasons.
Basil- is summer
Cilantro- brightens everything up
rosemary- reminds me of Christmas (don't know why)
Mint- can't have a mojito without one
Dill- turns everything into something special
Lemongrass- fresh, lemony, grassy taste
tarragon- yummy in salads
Will definitely add parsely to the garden next year, seems to be a favorite that I have not cooked with enough.
view bfisk's profile
While these other herbs are lovely, my absolute favorite is marjoram. I sometimes forget it, but our reunions are glorious!
view zephyrluna's profile
Basil, without question. Parsley and Oregano tie for second place, however.
view bocadelperro's profile
Cilantro (or coriander as I knew it for most of my life) is my absolute favourite! Cannot live without it. There is always, always some of this herb at home.
Rosemary and thyme tie for a comfortable second. Since I use them often but not in as much quantity as cilantro, I can have small pots of them growing on my window-sill.
My stealth herb-love is mint! A whiff of it makes me just deliriously happy everytime! If I smell it at the store, I buy lots of it on the spot. Then I have the dilemma of dealing with ten bunches of mint. But the apartment smells heavenly! :)
Sage pesto? Really? I like sage, but a pesto does seem a bit too much of a good thing...
view Chilli's profile
I love tarragon as well (heck, I love sage too), but my favorite favorite favorite fresh herb is hands-down, cilantro. I love it.
view misplacedtexan's profile
Thyme, no question.
It's subtle and refreshing. Also, it goes with darn near everything. I love making thyme-infused simple syrup to mix into cocktails, especially gin. *swoon*
ABreadADay.com
view eprewitt's profile
thanks for the sage ideas -- I have a plant that's going great guns, and haven't been able to use it up fast enough. I'm intrigued to try frying sage in tempura batter; I usually just fry it in butter.
view melting's profile
I'll have to add thyme to my favourites, too. Thyme on roasted carrots—yum!
Now if only I could stop killing the plants in the winter.
view sherrme's profile