Jerry Traunfeld - The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor

the HERBAL KITCHEN

COOKING WITH FRAGRANCE AND FLAVOR

JERRY TRAUNFELD

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN GRANEN

for STEVIE and in memory of IRVING

The Herbal Kitchen Plants

FOR AS MANY YEARS AS IVE BEEN A CHEF , Ive always been asked the same three questions: Do you cook at home? What do you cook at home? And why arent you fat?

Yes, I cook at homevery often. Im bound to my restaurant stove four nights a week, but on the other three youll find me in my Seattle bungalows kitchen, and its pretty hard to drag me away. I love to fiddle at home, but not fuss. When I cook on my nights off I dont want to feel like Im at work, so Monday through Wednesdaymy nights at homeI put on a completely different hat than the chefs toque I wear in my restaurant. I cook food that I crave or that pleases my partner Stephen and my guests, and though we eat very well, the preparations have to be simple. The common thread, whether Im cooking at home or at The Herbfarm, is fresh herbs. Herbs appear in most every dish I prepare for my nine-course restaurant menus, and they make their way from my backyard garden into much of the food I cook in my home kitchen.

Like most home cooks, I search for fast and easy-to-prepare recipes that taste extraordinary. When I cook with fresh herbs its easy to achieve amazing results with little effort. As I experiment at the restaurant, inventing dishes and pondering different ways of incorporating the herbs, I always think about how I can translate the same techniques into no-fuss home recipes. Ive collected the best of those recipes, added some favorite versions of familiar classics that Ive enlivened with herbs, like lasagna and stuffed eggs, and organized them according to the occasion, whether a workday supper for the family, a special dinner for two or four, or a feast for a table full of guests. If youre already accustomed to cooking with fresh herbs, these recipes will inspire you with new ideas. If youre just discovering them, I know youll get hooked when you taste what they can do for your cooking.

As much as teaching how to cook with herbs, I strive to encourage more people to grow them, so Ive included important tips on the varieties, culture, and characteristics of each herb I coot with. A backyard herb garden, or even a big planter filled with herbs, is an endlessly rewarding project for any avid cook. Instead of spending a couple of dollars each time you buy a few sprigs of questionable freshness, youll have a rejuvenating supply with just a small initial investment of time and money. Freshly picked culinary herbs are far more vibrant tasting and youll have a much wider selection of varieties, including those you cant buy as a cut herb in any store. Beyond that, theres great pleasure in the very act of harvesting the herbs you are going to cook with. Even though you might have only plopped the plants in the ground and watered them, you cant help but feel the accomplishment of raising these useful and delightful ingredients yourself.

As to why Im not fat, what if the herbs ?

IF YOU RANDOMLY CHOOSE A GROUP OF GARDEN PLANTS , theyll likely have differing needs. Some prefer moist roots in dappled shade, some rich soil in full sun, but luckily most culinary herbs like the same conditions and will grow quite happily with one another in the same plot of earth with little fuss. With a little attention theyll flourish.