End of Season Herb Paste Recipe and 2 Herb Salad Dressing Recipes
2013
The frost has hit and I was a little sad a couple weeks ago to lose some basil from frost. I used most of it, so not that bad. However I decided that it was time to pick and make a herb paste to freeze with the rest of the hardier herbs in the garden. Often I just process the herbs with a little olive oil and that’s it, but I decided to do it a little differently this year.
I came up with this herb paste recipe that has lots of garlic in it, as I always end up adding garlic anyway, and this is a little savory with some added dijon and apple cider vinegar. I think doing it this way will save a little time on the other end. It will be easy to defrost a cube and just mix it in with vegetables to dehydrate, or roast, and perfect to make salad dressings with.
I tested it out yesterday and it was awesome. I’ll share the recipes that I used it with below also!
Here’s the herb paste recipe. I used what herbs I had lots of, and love, left in my garden. You can substitute and add what you have and your favorites. If it was a little earlier I would have loved to add chives and basil as well, as I had lots and love those both. But I am really happy with how these turned out.
End of Season Herb Paste Recipe
Ingredients
3 to 4 cups of Herbs
½ cup Olive oil
1 large head of Garlic – about 14 cloves
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 to 2 Tbsp water, if necessary to thin
These are the herbs I often use, depending on what’s left in the garden:
½ – 1 cup Oregano leaves
½ cup Rosemary leaves
½ cup Sage leaves
½ – 1 cup Parsley
½ – 1 cup Chives
..and Basil if I have any still.
Side note on Basil: If I have lots of basil, which I usually aim for, I will usually process it all with just olive oil and freeze. It’s great for making pesto, which is a great taste of summer to have in the winter!
Directions to make Herb Paste
Destem the herbs from branches and stems and then wash and let dry. Separate garlic and peel. Put all ingredients into the processor and process until smooth. Add a little water, just enough so that it is easy to spoon out into ice cube trays. Fill tray and set into the freezer. This will fill 1 tray so you will end up with 12 frozen herb cubes. When frozen transfer to a small freezer bag and leave in the freezer until ready to use.
Herb Paste Recipe Photo Description
Get ingredients together
Destem the herbs
Put all the ingredients into a food processor.
Process until you have a paste.
Spoon into an ice cube tray. I had exactly enough to fill one tray.
Freeze, and then transfer to a freezer bag and freeze. You can just pop one out easily and defrost it to use whenever you like and have herbs from your garden all winter long.
Here are some ways to use these frozen herb cubes:
Herb Salad Dressing
¼ cup Olive oil
3 Tbsp Lemon juice
2 tsp Herb paste, or half a defrosted cube
Mix all ingredients together well in a bowl. Add a little sweetener, such as honey or agave, if desired.
Creamy Herb Dressing
I made this one yesterday. It was so easy, and we all loved it!
2 Tbsp Hemp oil Mayo
2 tsp Lemon juice
1 to 2 tsp Herb paste
Mix together. This is great on salads and all vegetables.
I mixed the rest of the cube with a little more olive oil and drizzled over vegetables before cooking them like this:
Herbed Dehydrated Vegetables, or Herbed Roasted Vegetables
These herb cubes are great to defrost and use during the winter when summer herbs are not as easy to get. Finely slice a variety of vegetables, such as zucchini, cauliflower, pepper, carrot, onion etc. Mix with a defrosted herb cube mixed with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and dehydrate for 3 to 4 hours to soften. If you are roasting, put the pan of vegetables in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until vegetables are cooked.
