Where my rosemary goes...

Years ago, I started a herb bed in my back garden with rosemary, chives, marjoram, oregano, lemon balm and thyme.

Over the years, the herbs have established themselves and especially the rosemary has grown into a mini tree with excess branches that I had to split last year to prevent it from taking over the entire bed.

Trying to find different uses for the rosemary can be challenging as not every dish suits the addition of this rather strong herb.

Friends are used to getting rosemary salt which is so easy to make especially as you can add other herbs as well. My aromatic salt includes parsley, lemon zest, rosemary, oregano and thyme – as long as it is not a ‘wet’ herb, you can use any combination (wet herbs would include chives for example).

Wash the herbs and dry them thoroughly, place them in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped (don’t blitz it to a powder). Now place the herbs and salt into a jar and shake well to combine. Place in the fridge – it keeps quite a long time as the salt serves as a preservative.

It adds a nice note to any dish – I am not sure if it is my imagination but I think the aromatic (it smells heavenly) salt is ‘saltier’ than normal table salt.

Another way, I use rosemary is in baking – the lemon rosemary drizzle cake is delicious and I should make it more often to be honest.

The ingredients are: 165g caster sugar, lemon zest of 1 lemon, juice of 2 lemons, 2-3 tbsp finely chopped rosemary, 2 eggs, 125g Greek yogurt, 100ml olive oil, 225g plain flour, 2tsp baking powder, pinch of salt. Method: preheat the oven to 180C. Place the sugar, lemon zest and rosemary in a bowl (I like to rub the rosemary into the sugar to release the herbal oils and aroma). Add the lemon juice and stir well. Add in the eggs, yogurt and oil and whisk well together. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mix and add the salt. Mix well together.

Pour into a prepared loaf tin and bake for about 35-40 mins (you know it is ready when an inserted needle/skewer comes out clean).

Let it stand for a few moments before turning onto a cooling rack. When the cake is cool you can pour your icing/drizzle over.

Another very easy yet yummylicious recipe is lemon and rosemary posset. This is a classic recipe with the addition of rosemary – I’m not sure the French would agree but I like the earthy undernotes from the rosemary.

You will need: 300ml cream (use double cream if you can get it), zest of one lemon, juice of two lemons, two large sprigs of rosemary, 110g caster sugar.

Method: Place the lemon zest and rosemary (no need to chop them) in a pot and use the back of a wooden spoon to mash them up a bit to release the aroma. Add the cream and heat to close to boiling point (don’t let it boil, we just want to infuse the cream at this stage).

Leave to infuse at least 30 minutes but if you like it stronger, overnight is also okay. Strain the cream to remove the zest and rosemary and place back on the heat. Add the caster sugar and bring to a boil, simmer for two minutes and remove from heat. Add the lemon juice and stir well. Pour into individual glasses/jars/cups and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight until set.

Enjoy the taste of summer!