HERB, by Mark Diacono

 A book review

Whilst I have never been a smoker, I can understand instinctively the reference to the importance of a cigarette paper on page 64, describing the hair's breadth separation between oregano and marjoram.  Reminscences about rollups in bus shelters rarely figure in food writing.  

This is a book, not about bad habits and memories, dried leaves and paper, but about herbs, vibrant, verdant, fresh and yes, dried. It is about their place in the garden, the window box, the back step or the window sill and their role in the kitchen; but it is so much more.  Mark's writing is sublime, this book ranks as a good read whether or not you are a gardener or a cook.  Anything we write about it will pale in comparison, but try we must!

I wrote this review, sitting on a hotel terrace, surrounded by four strategically placed bay trees.  It was earlier this summer in Scotland, so although there was sun, the heat was far from Mediterranean, unlike now, but the waft of lavender and the persistent buzz of the bees echo the opening lines of HERB; "I'm sitting within an incomplete ring of pots, each full of herbs, their flowers alive with pollinators, the sun flashing bright as I scribe".

As a gardener and cook, as well as a writer, Mark is well qualified to take you from plot, or pot, to plate and whilst it may amount to less than a single page, to my mind one of the most useful entries in the book is the section on "Choosing what to grow".  With an ever increasing range of fresh and dried herbs available in the supermarket and farm shop, even in rural Shropshire, the frankly mind numbing selection of plants on specialist websites* and limited growing space at home, advice and guidance on the best options to maximise herbal gratification and minimise horticultural disaaster are more than welcome.

"if you were expecting to see lemon balm: NO"

Once these fundamental decisions have been made, Mark guides the reader through two distinct sets of herb skills; firstly describing garden skills, such as sowing from seed and propagation, through to picking the end result.

And then, logically enough, into the kitchen; there are more ways to chop and store your herbs than you have hitherto considered, I'll wager.

Moving on, the excitement grows - sorry about the pun, with a comprehensive directory of herbs to grow and eat.  More than a simple list, each description paints a picture, effervesces with enthusiasm and quite frankly, is less than helpful in restricting your choice - I want them all.

"Anise hyssop (ours is just coming into flower) looks like the offspring of a one night stand mint had with a nettle". Sadly there is no back story about how mint and nettle got it on, but it was an intriguing enough introduction to make me read on.

By now, you should have your herb patch planned out and you can step into the recipe section. 

Disclaimer: this review is in no way coloured by the appearance of Mark's Netherton pan in some of these recipes, page 155 for example😊

Green is now my favourite colour, leaping out of every shot, as refreshing as a cold beer on a hot summer evening.

Among our favourites, and it is very hard to choose, is the dill, lemon and green bean pilaf.  The description of it being "crazily moreish", is if anything, an understatement.  The only way I can justify my greedy approach to this dish is to convince myself that is is good for me!.

There is so much to love about this book, but the love does not reside solely between the covers.

Mark is "offering HERB at four prices. We want to ensure that those who might benefit most from the book are able to get their hands on it, so you can pay whichever suits you." 

If you have wanted more from your herbs than a parsley garnish, then anything you spend on this book, will be a true investment.

* is "herbporn" a thing?

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2021 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

The Tramshed Project

 There were, still are, many down sides to the pandemic; from the serious to the trivial.

But as with all clouds there have been silver linings.  The upsides may not have outweighed, or come even close to the down sides, but it would be wrong not to celebrate them.

 Deliveroo has just announced an increase in sales of 99%+ over the last year, highlighting the rise in takeaways and eating in necessitated by the closure of pubs, cafes and restaurants during lockdown.

But the whole notion of takeaways got a makeover last year, as innovative and embattled chefs and restaurateurs looked at ways of surviving the crisis.

Sure, Deliveroo kept delivering kebabs, pizza fried chicken, but the new kids on the block were gastro pubs and high end restaurants, offering a range of Dine at Home options to fill the space of eating out in style.

For those of us who live beyond the M25 this has been an even bigger benefit, as we can now get to try “London food” without a bank account emptying train trip.  And by London food, we are not being entirely capital centric, we are talking about a range of top flight restaurants suddenly becoming more accessible.

These offers are never going to replace the restaurant experience, with waiter service, posh glasses, fancy cutlery and most importantly of all, someone else to do the washing up, but they are a welcome addition to the choice of dining experiences and as rural dwellers, we hope they remain a viable option.

At least some of you, I am sure, will have seen our interview with Andrew Clarke, latterly of St Leonards and now working with the team at the Tramshed in London.

If so you will have heard how he is a great pan of his Netherton pans - you can see him proudly photographing his collectionn.

And you might also have noticed us mention the treat that he sent to us.  I hope that the following description tempts you give the Tramshed Project at Home a try too.  This may have been a gift, but we have been back since and paid our way.

Starter

Burrata with blood orange and salsa macha

Burrata is, to my mind, a challenge.  Silky, rich, indulgent, yes, but it can be a bit of a dairy mugging.  The blood arange tamed it considerably, reining in its excess and highlighting its indulgent creaminess.  Salsa macha was a first for us - to be honest, I had to look it up!.  This will not be the last time, however.  A definite winner.

Main

Butternut schnitzel, heritage carrots and cauliflower cream, pink fir potatoes.

The squash has been lightly steamed and then coated in breadcrumbs, oats and seeds to create a vegan take on a classic Schnitzel.  All we had to do was brush it oil and bake in the oven.

It may not sound much, in and of itself, but add in the seasonal greens with butter, (the schnitzel may have been vegan, but we are not), pumpkin miso sauce and a grnish of blood orange, redcurrants, pickeld shallots and capers and woohoo, the whole thing is elevated to a new level.  In our expereince the butternut has newer been bettered!

A side order of heritage carrots was served with cauliflower cream and sprinkled liberally with dukkah and pistachio, with a carb hit of Pink Fir potatoes to complete the meal.

To say that this was generous was an understatement - there was enough for 4 of us, not 2.

Dessert

Salted caramel tart

There may well have been enough of our mains to share, but there was no way this was going anywhere other than down my throat - absolute bliss.

Restaurants have had a hard time of it over the last 15 months and opening up is still presenting them with challenges nad struggles that we mainly do not see.

Please do what you can to support them, so that when all of this is over, they will still be there to feed us.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2021 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk