I’m gonna go on about fresh herbs are fair bit, but with good reason I think. They are the best. They can lift a dish from the realms of boring or just barely amusing to vibrant and just damn beautiful. A feat that can barely be touched by minced herbs or garlic in jars or tubes.

So you have your little herb garden now and it is cranking. You have realised that fresh herbs hold a whole new world of goodness. But what are you gonna do when that supply is too plentiful for your needs?

Well, there’s always pesto, salsa verde or chimmichurri for a start. Salsa verde is up a few posts back but the other two are right here…

Basil pesto
2 cups of picked basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
1/2 cup toasted pinenuts or macadamia’s*
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil

• Blitz in a food processor or blender, slowly adding the oil, until you have something that looks like store bought pesto but probably tastes twice as good.

Chimmichurri sauce
2 cups each picked oregano and parsley
3 long red chilli, seeds in if you like it hot, chopped roughly
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped roughly
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
Salt

• Same again. Blitz. Add oil slowly.

And if you want to store some herbs for a later date or just to have a quick mixed herb explosion on hand for a soup or pasta, then try freezing some of your fresh produce down.

Take one or more or your favourite herbs, and blitz with just enough water to get them moving until you have a nice green puree.
Divide the green goodness up into an ice cube tray and freeze.
Now you have pre-portioned cubes of herby goodness ready to go when you are.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiicko.

*to toast nuts toss them in a pan or under the grill for a coupla minutes until they are lightly browned. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.