Herbes de Provence is an aromatic and popular blend of green herbs from the Mediterranean landscape, called the garrigue. When you go for walks in this region, you will easily smell a lot of these herbs growing wild baking in the hot sun. I quickly understood why my son said I should never buy fresh thyme, as there is so much to be had freely growing wild along quiet roadways.
True ‘Herbes de Provence’ has its AOC which is a sort of pedigree allotted by the French which specifies its unique makeup of a product.
30% of Savory
30% of Rosemary
30% of Oregano
10% of Thyme
Some mixes come with bay leaf, basil and some even lavender, which most locals think is a big no no!
I’ve recently enlarged my herb garden and have been planting loads of culinary herbs in my new herb garden so will definitely be trying to dry these myself to make my own mix in the future.
The flavours are quite robust, so to begin with go easy to see how they work for you with different recipes. I’ve seen visitors slather food with it thinking the more the merrier. However, they really all come into their own when you rub them over a shoulder or a leg of lamb. The vegetables of Provence, the aubergines, peppers, courgettes all do better whilst grilling with these beautiful flavours.
They are beautiful herbs, which to me grown here, they seem sun-kissed and of a tougher variety than the ones I grew in the UK. The leaves seem more coarse, and I imagine more suited to when those hot July & August months arrive and everything gets burnt to a crisp!
I also love using the individual herbes de Provence individually . . . as I am definitely more of a ‘less is more’ kinda gal!. I’ll be talking more about the local herbs and how I’ve learnt to use them.
And of course you don’t have to be in Provence to make your own ‘mix’ . . . however when in Provence, it is a very useful gift to buy for others on your way back home. They come in pretty little bags, and pack real small, so make ideal gifts. Look out for them in all the markets.
A little tips I’ve learnt from Susan Hermann Loomis (my favourite cooking teacher) is to olive oil and pat a shoulder of lamb with herbes de Provence before barbecuing or putting on a rotisserie. Also putting little baby goat cheese in olive oil with a tablespoon of the whole herbs . . . leave for a week . . . Yum with a crunchy sourdough baguette!
I really leant so much from Susan Hermann Loomis and all her books about French cooking. As she says “Nearly every dish in France has a story, geographic root, or an event it calls its own. And each contributes to making France and the French what and who they are”. If like me you are interested in the history of French Food, her knowledge of the history of French Food is phenomenal.
For more of her treasured tips https://onruetatin.com/2017/07/17/herbes-de-provence-savory-rosemary-oregano-thyme/
