“A man’s nature runs either to herbs, or to weeds; therefore let him seasonably water the one, and destroy the other.” Francis Bacon, Sr.
Do I know my herbs? Well I thought I did, & was basking in my limited glory until I saw Helen’s beautiful Thyme shortbread cookies @ Tartlette. Hmmmmm, I thought, how come my oregano looks like her thyme? I got the seeds a while ago, & my gardener planted them. He’d never seen these herbs & I’ve only seen dried ones that looked more like green tea most of the time! Helen wrote to me when I left her a quizzical comment. A few pictures exchanged, & my life was put on the right herb track by the lovely lady!!My first exposure to herbs was Simon & Garfunkel’s first masterpiece, ‘Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme‘, so you can imagine my childhood connections with herbs. They sounded so exotic, while the only herbs we literally grew up on here were mint, coriander & Indian basil/tulsi. Basil happened to me a few years ago when a friend gifted me a plant. I passed on her good deed, & got many friends addicted to fresh basil! Then one day, not too long ago, Coco @ Purple Foodie mailed me some fresh herbs from Mumbai. I was elated, treated them like gold … & was well & truly bitten by the herb bug! Thyme came to my notice on Val’s chicken post @ More Than Burnt Toast sometime back, & I couldn’t wait for the pot to flourish. Thankfully I saw Tartlette’s cookie post, or my thyme would’ve been oregano, & vice versa!! Here are 2 recipes I bookmarked, made & we enjoyed both immensely. They are light & healthy, great for the summer that is here now, & are quite fuss free. That’s what I liked about both. The chicken is from Val’s lovely blog @ More Than Burnt Toast, a blog I have been visiting for long. The pasta recipe is from Bron’s beautiful blog that I discovered recently @ Bron Marshall. She has stunning pictures & her blog is absolutely refreshing!
These are off to Bookmarked Recipes, being hosted this week by hosted by Tami @ Tamis Kitchen Table Talk. I often wonder what I would have done if blogging hadn’t happened to me, other than thinking thyme was oregano of course!!
Ingredients: 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Finely grated zest of 1 lime 1- 1/2 T fresh lime 2 T thyme leaves 4 garlic cloves, minced Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced 6 chicken breast; sliced horizontally into 2 each Thyme leaves for garnishing Method:
In a large bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of the olive oil with the lime zest, lemon juice, thyme, garlic and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper.
Spoon 1- 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture into a medium bowl, add the tomatoes and turn to coat.This is something that I really liked about Val’s recipe. The flavours ran right through the tomatoes beautifully.
Add the chicken to the large bowl and turn to coat. Let the tomatoes and chicken stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. (I leave the chicken overnight in the fridge sometimes)
Heat the grill pan. Add the chicken to the grill, season with salt and pepper and grill over high heat, turning once, until cooked through and lightly charred, about 6 minutes.
Serve hot with pasta, & the marinated tomatoes on the side.
Where did Spring go? Was here a couple of days ago … now it’s just sweltering HOT!!
Ingredients: 1 cup of shelled walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped 2 Red Capsicums, charred, peeled and chopped 400gms of short pasta such as macaroni, penne. (Bron used a beautiful pasta called De Cecco -Galletti) 2 T olive oil 4 small garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 tablespoons chopped thyme & oregano, or another fresh herb Sea salt and freshly ground black pepperMethod:
Toast the walnuts either in a dry skillet or oven at 200°C until golden and chop them roughly.
Bron says…Scrape the blackened skin off the capsicum, resisting the urge to rinse it under water as this will remove a lot of the delicious smokey flavour. Discard the seeds and stalk, chop the flesh and set aside.
Cook the pasta in the large saucepan of salted boiling water for 10-12 minutes or until al dente.
Drain and return to the pan with the olive oil, finely chopped garlic, walnuts, capsicum, chives and or other herbs and toss well to combine.
Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with the grilled chicken & marinated tomato slices, & a little grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese if desired.
The pasta is also off to Presto Pasta Nights, the brainchild of Ruth @ Once Upon A Feast. This weeks round-up is being hosted by Katie of One Little Corner of the World.
