Herbing it up

on APRIL 18, 2020

Any of you that have eaten my cooking will notice that I use a lot of fresh herbs – to the extent that sometimes herbs like mint, parsley and scallions masquerade as a vegetable in the dish. I’ve always used a lot of fresh herbs, because, well, they are tasty, but I think my use of them really kicked into high gear after I read the fascinating book Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson.

In it, Jo explores the nutrition in fruits and vegetables including tips on how to get the most nutrition (polyphenols or phytonutrients) out of your vegetables. Some things that she talks about are intuitive – e.g. milder and sweeter fruits and vegetables are less nutritious than stronger flavored ones. Some things were not as intuitive but made total sense – a processed (cooked) tomato or berry is more nutritious than a fresh one. And some things were mindblowing (at least to me) such as, asparagus and broccoli lose the majority of their phytonutrients within hours after they are picked. Our diet has always contained a high percentage of vegetables, but this book certainly modified my relationship to veggies and fruits and also changed what I eat and how I cook. Here are a few other fascinating nuggets I took away from the book:

• In most cases, purple and red usually means more phytonutrients (red lettuce over green)

• A potato that has been cooked and sits in the fridge for 24 hours reduces a high glycemic index tuber into a low to medium one (diabetics, take note!)

• A white peach has more phytonutrients than a yellow one

• Cauliflower (even though it is white and mild) is actually extremely high in antioxidants and glucosinolates

• When cooking beans, most of the nutrients travel into the cooking water, so leaving them to soak in the water after cooking will raise their nutrient content – who knew that canned beans are better for you than beans cooked at home and then rinsed?

• Cooked whole carrots with olive oil have up to eight times more beta-carotene than fresh baby ones

So, when I’m putting a dish together, I try to make it more nutrient rich by substituting adding fresh vegetables and/or herbs with a higher concentrations of polyphenols. Now, you’re probably wondering why the heck I’m telling you all of this when you are cooped up at home digging through your pantry to try and make meals. I’m hoping to give you a few tips I use to increase my green and flavor content even if you don’t have a kitchen herb garden like mine.

front to back: sage, oregano, thyme, thai basil, lemongrass, rosemary

One thing I found exciting in Jo’s book was that scallions are the most nutritious of all onions. Surprisingly, they contain 140 times the phytonutrients in white onions! I already used a lot of green onions, but upped our consumption after reading that fact. I’m not sure if you know the trick, but when you get a bunch of onions, if you chop off the tops just above the white/light green part and stick them in some water, they will keep growing! Just rinse and change the water every few days or when it gets cloudy and you will be able to harvest right from the jar. A sunny spot is best for growth.

these green onions were chopped off about 5 days ago

With herbs like basil and mint, clean off the lower leaves, cut the stems at a 45 degree angle with a sharp knife (just like you would for fresh flowers) and put them in a jar of water just like the scallions. These will also sprout little roots and can be transplanted into a pot. Et voila! You have a mini herb garden.

hard to see, but that mint is sending off a lot of roots

One of the best experiences of my childhood were the epic road trips my family took in the american Southwest. I still long for the multi-colored sandstone canyons and vast expanses where the sky seemed impossibly big. One morning, on one of these trips, my dad picked some fresh desert sage and added it to our scrambled eggs for breakfast. That sage was much more fragrant (and probably had more nutrients than the kind I grow), but the combination is still incredible. If you don’t have fresh sage on hand, not to worry! Dried sage is delicious as well.

scrambled eggs with sage

• 3-4 eggs (room temp is best)

• 1-2 tbsp milk (optional)

• 1-2 tbsp fresh sage leaves (or 1-2 tsp dried)

• 1/2 – 1 tsp kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil

Jullienne the sage and chop into smaller pieces.

Add the eggs and milk (if using) to a small bowl and whisk with a fork until combined. Mix in sage, salt and 4-5 grinds of fresh pepper. Mix with the fork to combine.

Heat a medium/large frying pan over medium-high heat to rather hot. Add the olive oil, swirl the pan and wait a few seconds until it shimmers. Pour in the eggs and as soon as you see them getting opaque on the bottom (should only be a few seconds), start scraping the edges to the middle.

Keep folding the edges of the eggs into the center of the pan until you have a pile in the middle.

Immediately take the pan off the heat, put a lid on and let steam for a few minutes. The whole cooking process should only take 2-3 minutes and gives you beautiful, fluffy eggs. I like having these with buttered toast and some fruit on the side. Sometimes I dress the eggs up with hot sauce, but the sage flavor can be overwhelmed by it, so be judicious with your dousing.