Guide to Using Herbs in Cooking

Tarragon and chervil are soft herbs, meaning you only use then at the end of cooking, or don't even cook them at all. They are two of the four part "fines herbes". Add chive batons and picked parsley for the complete set. Do not chop them, except for the chives.

Toss fine herbes with salads, haricot verts and other fresh beans, chickpeas, lentils, potatoes, sunchokes, artichokes... the list goes on. If you are going to use them for something served hot, toss the herbs in at the very last moment. If you don't want to buy more herbs, just leave the parsley and chives out, that's just fine.

Tarragon pairs well with assertive flavors, being one itself, so things like artichoke, corn, lentils, citrus, eggs, fennel, mustard and vinegars. Does well with potatoes too. Also, essential for making your own béarnaise/hollandaise sauce, which pairs especially well with artichokes, and of course, eggs.

Chervil is quiet, and is more of a supporting player. Pairs excellently with potatoes, cream based soups, and does well with eggs, fennel and carrots. Consider a vichyssoise, super easy, very cheap, and will both look and taste great with garnishes of picked chervil atop.

Thyme, rosemary and sage. Classic herbs for meat. These are very savory, but can be used for many different preparations. Thyme as rosemary are complimentary, and can be used together to create super flavorful dishes.

Thyme is probably the most useful cooking herb there is. It is piney fresh, but even a few seconds of cooking will release an incredible amount of aroma, similar to rosemary. If you want it to add complexity to a dish, add it early on in the cooking. if you want it an upfront flavor and aroma, add it at the end, right before you bring it to the table. Almost all stews or stocks have thyme as an integral flavoring. Anything roasted, potatoes, tomatoes, vegetarian chowder, beans, carrots, corn, honey, and mushrooms and onions especially.

Try a French Onion and Mushroom soup, replace beef stock with vegetable stock. Caramelize the onions well and brown the mushrooms before adding them. Use some sherry and sherry vinegar, or hard apple cider and cider vinegar, and of course lots of thyme. Don't forget the gruyere and toast!

Rosemary is a heavy-hitter, so go light on her. Use in the same way as thyme, early for melding the flavor and adding complexity, later for in-your-face rosemary. Potatoes, polenta, beans, tomatoes, garlic, lemon, onions, cabbage. Grilled vegetables with a compound butter of rosemary and lemon is an idea. Or polenta with rosemary and Parmesan cheese. Or pan-roasted cauliflower/Brussels sprouts/fennel/parsnips with rosemary, garlic, lemon and white wine with chili flakes. Or a white bean cassoulet along with thyme and sage.

Sage needs to be used later in the cooking process, or it will lose its flavor and aroma. Works well with pasta and nuts, traditionally but not limited to walnuts. Beans, cheese, corn, winter squash, onions and garlic, mushrooms, butter, potatoes, tomatoes. The leaves of sage are good fried in butter and used as a garnish. A classic pairing, try a winter squash soup with fried sage leaves as a garnish.