Wondering what to give your father for Father’s Day? The recipe below is great for small children (they are great at picking leaves) and adults alike to prepare, does not take much time and is a homemade gift from the heart that will remind him how loved he is each time he uses it. It is perfect for dads that love to barbecue, dads that love to cook simply but want professional results and gourmet dads who have every bit of kitchen equipment possible.
Most people have heard of herbes de Provence, a French dried herb mixture which is typically sold in charmingly decorated sachets. Italians have a similar mixture of herbs used particularly for grilled meats (alla brace). Every household will have their own mixture and you can alter yours to taste, the type of meat or fish being cooked and the cooking method. When available, Italians will always prefer to use fresh herbs but dried herbs are a good way to preserve excess herbs from the garden during the summer. If you live somewhere you do not always have access to fresh herbs, this is a good way to use up any excess herbs when you do have them.
The mixture can have any blend of rosemary, sage, thyme, basil, parsley, marjoram, oregano, garlic, onion, chilli, fennel seed, lemon zest, orange zest or mandarin zest. For pork, mixtures with more sage, thyme, rosemary, myrtle, onion, bay leaves and fennel seed are nice. For duck, mixtures with more rosemary, onion, orange zest, rosemary and thyme marry well. Chicken works well with garlic, thyme, rosemary and sage. Lamb pairs well with rosemary, garlic and chilli. For barbecuing, rosemary and thyme work best. Alter the recipe to your own taste but keep in mind that herbs which can be eaten raw, such as basil and parsley lose a lot of their flavour when dried so these should be a minority flavouring in your mix.
With regards to maximising flavour, these spice mixtures are best blended fresh with olive oil and frozen in ice cube trays to be used later (please do not be tempted to refrigerate instead as there is a risk of botulism). For gift giving, dry the herbs, blend and fill attractive little bags to decorate. You can add some handwritten instructions to blend the mixture with olive oil, red wine (best for red meat and duck), white wine, lemon juice or vinegar before marinating fish for 2 or more hours and meat for 3 to 4 hours or more (depending on the thickness of the cut) before cooking. The wine, lemon juice and vinegar act to soften the meat and the olive oil keeps the meat from drying out. Your herb mix adds the flavour punch.
Recipe: Erbe aromatiche (Italian aromatic mix)
To substitute dried herbs then just divide the amount of fresh herbs by 3.
60 grams basil, leaves picked
10 grams marjoram, leaves picked
15 grams rosemary still on the branch
12 grams sage, leaves picked
5 grams thyme, still on the branch
2 bay leaves
1 head of garlic, sliced
10 grams (1 medium lemon) lemon, zest sliced off in strips (ensure none of the bitter white pith is attached)
1 gram fennel seed, ground
10 grams sea salt
2 pinches chilli
1 gram black pepper, freshly ground
For dried herb mixture:
Soak the herbs, rinse and dry thoroughly. Place the basil and marjoram on a tea towel over a wire rack to dry for 2 days. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread out the rosemary, sage, thyme, bay leaf, sliced garlic and lemon zest. Place in the oven on the lowest setting possible with the fan on. The lemon will take 1.5 hours, the thyme and rosemary will take 3 hours and the bay leaf, garlic and sage will take 5 hours, depending on the temperature of your oven.
When all the herbs are dried, place them into a coffee grinder (used only for spices) with the fennel, salt, chilli and black pepper and grind to a powder. Place them in sealed containers or little plastic bags inside decorative jute bags to gift. Be sure to hand write the instructions below to add to the bag.
For the frozen olive oil mixture:
10 grams basil, leaves picked
5 grams marjoram, leaves picked
7 grams rosemary, still on the branch
7 grams sage, leaves picked
5 grams thyme, still on the branch
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves
1 gram lemon zest (ensure none of the bitter white pith is attached)
1 gram fennel seeds
10 grams sea salt
2 pinches chilli
1 gram black pepper, freshly ground
100 mls extra-virgin olive oil
Wash and dry the herbs. Remove the leaves. Add the herbs with the other ingredients and 75 mls of the olive oil to a food processor and finely chop. Pour into an ice cube tray filling each compartment 3/4 full. Freeze the mixture until solid. When frozen top up each compartment with the remaining 25 mls of olive oil so all the herbs are completely covered. Freeze again until solid. If you like, pop the cubes from the tray and place in a re-closeable freezer safe plastic bag.
Instructions:
For 4 servings: mix together 80 mls extra-virgin olive oil, 40 mls vinegar, red or white wine or lemon juice and 5 grams (2 tablespoons) of the herb mixture (or 2 cubes of the frozen olive oil mixture). Add salt and pepper to taste. Marinate for 1 hour to overnight depending on the cut and type of meat or fish.
Variation: For meat, you can also add a spoonful of mustard if you like.
What other homemade presents have you made for your Dad?
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