Recipes to help you make the most of your hyssop

Di-Di Hoffman's
Bouquet Garni Herbs
"Materia Medica"

Recipes to help you make the most of your hyssop

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During the past 25 years we have collected literally thousands of herb recipes. This week I would like to share some hyssop cooking tips and hyssop recipes with you. I hope these will stimulate your imagination. Some of these recipes you will recognize, others might sound alien. My only intention here is to show you how easy it is to use herbs to relieve boredom in the kitchen. Especially with a herb like hyssop that has great potential in the kitchen, is a herb of great antiquity, and definitely deserves a spot in every herb garden.

As most of our recipes dates from pre-computer days (meaning they are in files and files of hand written notes), I'm not including the 'authors/creators' of all these recipes. As we simply collected recipes for our own purposes, never with the intention of sharing them with a wide audience, I did not always record the source. If I infringe your 'copyright' by not giving you credit please accept my apologies.

Parts used: We use the leaves fresh or dried; the flowers only fresh.

When to harvest: The leaves can be harvested at any time during the year. We pick the flowers and young flowering tops as flowering begins.

How to dry: Hang in a warm, dark, well ventilated place.

How to store: Fresh leaves and flowers - In tightly sealed plastic bags or 'tupperware' containers in the refrigerator. Dried leaves - In airtight containers in a cool, dark place.

Cooking tips: At first use small amounts of leaves (especially dried) in your dishes as the bitter, slightly minty (or camphor-like if you wish) flavour can easily overpower a dish. As you become used to the flavour you will increase the amounts naturally. We never use both the leaves and flowers to flavour the same dish as the stronger flavour of the leaves dominate that of the delicate flowers. The leaves stand up well to long cooking periods but we prefer to add it just before serving. Experiment a bit to find out what suits your taste buds.

Taste good with/in: Dried or fresh leaves - soups, stews, herbal teas. Fresh leaves - soft cheeses such as goat cheese and cottage cheese, flavoured butters, sandwiches, sauces, dips, hot or cold pasta dishes. Flowers - green salads.

Bouquet Garni's: Mostly used on its own but we often combine it with one or more of the following: chervil (my favourite combination), chives, parsley, bay, basil and sage (especially in fatty dishes, but be careful as both can overpower). Tip: Both hyssop and sage aids digestion of fatty fish and meat.

Historical uses: As I've pointed out in last weeks newsletter it is frequently mentioned in the Bible, from Moses to John the Baptist. It was also venerated by the Arabs. The ancient Greeks boiled it with rue and honey, and used it as a cough remedy. Much used as a medicinal herb. Also used to flavour liqueurs, such as the well known Chartreuse. A wine called hyssopites, made from hyssop was mentioned by the Roman writer Pliny (first century AD).

Glazed Carrots with Hyssop
Here's one way I can easily convince my dear wife, who's not too fond of carrots, to eat carrots. She loves chicken though, so its sort of a compromise.

About 500g young carrots, scraped and thinly sliced; 1 cup chicken stock; 1 tbsp honey; 1 tbsp unsalted butter; 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh hyssop leaves; salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste.

In a saucepan, combine the carrots, stock, honey, butter and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook over low heat until the carrots are tender and the liquid is a syrupy glaze, about 20 minutes or so. Be careful that it does not burn. Toss the carrots with hyssop and serve immediately.

If you don't want to 'ruin' 500g carrots, try this tester: 2 large carrots thinly sliced, 1 tbsp water (or chicken stock), 1 tbsp butter, 1 tsp honey or brown sugar, 1 tsp finely chopped hyssop. Proceed as above. This needs only about 10 minutes to cook, but beware, it burns very easily.

Bully Beef, Cheese and Hyssop Spread
My national service days cured me from eating any Bully Beef, unfortunately not so for the rest of our family. My biggest challenge in the early days of experimenting with herbs was to find ways to make Bully Beef edible - according to my taste buds anyway. This is one of my 'favourites'. The original recipe called for 250g minced, cooked ham, but I've never tried that.

1 tin minced Bull Brand Bully Beef (but any brand will do), remember to put the excess fat on the bird feeder for the insect eating birds; 3/4 cup cottage cheese (or a cream cheese, I've even used grated cheddar), 1/2 cup soft unsalted butter; 2 tsp finely chopped fresh hyssop; salt and pepper.

Combine all ingredients, blend well, add seasoning to taste. Place in a serving dish and chill before serving with crackers or toast.

Meat Balls with Hyssop
My mom makes the most divine meat balls, and I've ruined, and devoured, a couple of beef herds trying to improve her recipe. Admittedly, without success, but this one comes close. It also makes an exceptional pure beef hamburger patty.

250g minced meat; 1 minced onion; 1 beaten egg; 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley (preferably Italian parsley); 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh hyssop; salt and pepper; seasoned flour; oil for frying.

Combine minced meat and onion, mix in herbs and season to taste. Stir in beaten egg and mix well. Form into small balls, roll in seasoned flour, fry quickly in very hot oil, turning to brown them on all sides. Reduce the heat and cook them a little longer if they are not cooked in the middle.

Chicken with Hyssop
Next time you stuff a roasting chicken with your favourite stuffing substitute the herbs you usually use with 2 tsp finely chopped fresh hyssop. While the chicken is roasting baste it with its own fat or 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter and a little lemon juice. Sprinkle with 1 tsp finely chopped hyssop.

We are not too fond of stuffed chicken. We simply put a sprig of hyssop in the cavity of the un-stuffed chicken. To improve the flavour we add a knob of butter and some thinly peeled lemon rind.

Cauliflower and Hyssop Salad
Hyssop adds a new dimension to salads and its a wonderful way of benefiting from all those wonderful health building properties of fresh greenies and hyssop.

2 cups thinly sliced, raw cauliflower; 1 diced red apple; 1 1/2 cups plain yoghurt; 2-4 tsp finely chopped fresh hyssop; 1 tsp salt; 1 tbsp lemon juice (or your own home-made herb vinegar).

Mix cauliflower and apple together in a salad bowl. Combine other ingredients in a basin, mix well, pour over cauliflower and apple mix. Toss and chill before serving. Garnish with hyssop flowers or hyssop sprigs.

Recipe Variations: All the above recipes lend themselves to endless variations. For starters substitute the hyssop with any of your favourite herbs. Next try some of the bouquet garni's above or just use your imagination to create your own. Using herbs, "Aagh no mom, not meatballs (or whatever) again!", becomes a phrase expressed before the first bite, not after.

Queen Elizabeth's Cordial Electuary of Hyssop
Her Highness's original recipe called for some ingredients that's quite hard to obtain on short notice, and quite expensive. After some experimenting (it took exactly 22 batches), I'm convinced that she won't know the difference. This licorice flavored remedy, soothes sore throats, relieves cough, does wonders for an upset stomach and helps shortness of breath. You can take a tablespoon 1-3 times a day. Please read the cautions for using hyssop in medicinal dosages in last weeks newsletter.

2 tbsp dried hyssop (preferably flowering tops) or 1/3 cup fresh hyssop (chopped flowering tops); 1/4 cup water; 1 cup honey; 1 tsp aniseed; a pinch each ground pepper and ground ginger.

In a saucepan combine honey and water. Stir until the mixture is consistency of pancake syrup. Bring slowly to a boil (over a medium heat). Skim off any scum that rises to the surface. If using dried hyssop, use 1-2 tbsp water to moisten the dried material. Crush the aniseed. Stir both into the honey. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Add a small pinch of ground pepper and a small pinch of ground ginger. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat, strain, and allow to cool. While the mixture is still a little warm, strain into a sterilized jar. When completely cooled, screw on the lid. Keep in the refrigerator for not more than one week.

Hyssop Air Freshener
If you have a aromatherapy oil burner take a good handful of fresh hyssop, or 1 heaped tablespoon of dried hyssop and bring it to boil in a pan of water. Pour into a your aromatherapy oil burner. . You need to watch this as the water evaporates quicker than oil. So keep on replenishing. This keeps the air sweet and healthy.

If you have any Hyssop recipes you would like to share, please email them to me.

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