Salad Burnet -- Herb-of-the-Week

As is our tradition on Wednesday again we are posting the herb-of-the-week.  In this weekly herb post you will find a deeper description of a single herb that I hope will get you thinking creatively about using it in your garden.  I chose this herb because now is the time of year to dig and divide this herb for transplanting.

This week's herb is:  Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba minor)

History

The plant salad burnet, also known as pimpinelle, is a popular culinary and landscaping herb.  Burnet is an old traditional herb garden plant originally recommended by Sir Frances Bacon in 1625 in an essay on ideal gardens for planting in walkways alone with thyme and water mints because of the pleasant perfume when crushed. It grows in a soft mound, so makes a good edging plant and it keeps it light green color through out the year.  In fact is can be harvested until the first snowfall.  It uniquely has both male and female flowers so it can self pollinate. The flowers appear in May and June and are small pink to purple tufts.  The tender round toothed young leaves taste like cucumber.  Because of its recommendations by Bacon it is often seen in Shakespearean themed gardens.

To Grow

Salad burnet grows well in containers and in gardens as long it has 5 hours of sun a day.  It is good in zones 3 to 10 and prefers full sun to light shade, preferring a well-drained soil.  Late fall or early spring is the time to dig up and divide Salad Burnet for transplanting.  It can be grown from seed, but is very slow to germinate meaning most plants grown from seed barely fill in and usually give little harvest the first year.  Planting them 12 inches apart will give them space to spread. 

Salad burnet is best used fresh, but it can take a full year to establish, so the first year their may not been much harvest.  Cut it back as soon as flower buds appear to insure a continuous crop of leaves.  I do allow at least one clump to go to seed so I can harvest the seeds in summer.

Uses

Due to its cucumber flavor it is a great substitute for this flavor, especially since it will be available months before cucumbers are ripe.  It makes delicious vinegars, marinades, herb butters and beverages and even makes a pretty garnish.   Leaves make a great accent floated on top of fruit punch.  The leaves can be stripped from the stem and frozen for winter use, as dried leaves have little flavor.  Chewing burnet leave is said to aid digestion.  The seeds are good in vinegar, marinades and cheese dishes and for flavoring French dressing.  Its Latin name comes from the Latin for blood and it was used historically as a wound herb.

Compound Herb Butter (great for tea sandwiches)

1 medium scallion, finely chopped

¼ cup packed fresh salad burnet leaves, finely chopped (after measuring)

1 Tbls. fresh lemon juice

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black or white pepper

¼ tsp. dry mustard

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

You can blend and chop by hand or combine the scallion and herbs in a food processor.  Add lemon juice, salt pepper, mustard, and butter.  Mix together very thoroughly. Transfer to waxed paper or plastic wrap and roll into a log about 1 inch in diameter and 7 inches long.   Freeze until ready to slice and use.

Makes great tea sandwiches for an afternoon tea, especially when used with fresh whole leaves.

Egg Salad with Salad Burnet
To make a hearty sandwich to serve at your picnic serve this egg salad on fresh slices of whole wheat herb bread.

12 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh salad burnet - chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Place the eggs in a large pan, fill the pan with water and place it on the stove on high heat. When the water comes to a boil turn the heat down to medium and cook the eggs for an additional 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the stove, drain the water and run cold water over the eggs until they have cooled down. Remove the shells from the eggs and chop them up then place them in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve this salad of assorted breads and crackers if desired.
All recipes copyright 2010 Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh and should not be used without permission.

Salad burnet is an herb only used fresh, but if you want to try an herbal butter in the winter, we have several dry herb mixes on our website- http://www.backyardpatch.com/

Instant Gourmet - making herbal butter!

I was surfing the net the other day and ran across a quote from a Gourmet Cooking blog.  They said “Herb butters are among the small but important details offered by fine restaurants and appreciated by gourmet diners.”  Reading that reminded me that the first items I experimented with after harvesting from my original herb garden were Herb Butters.

Herbal Butter is a simple, fun and easy way to experiment with different herbs.  It helps you to realize the tastes and the flavor families.

The best part about herbal butter is you can use either salted or unsalted butter or even margarine or butter substitutes.  You can also use fresh or dried herbs.  That makes them a great item to make in the winter when you are missing fresh herbs and planning your herb garden for next year.

How to Craft Herb Butter

 When using fresh herbs instead of dried herbs double the amount used in a recipe calling for dried herbs, as dry herbs have a more intense flavor.  The general rule in making herbal butter is: Use 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh herbs; 1-1/2 teaspoons of dried herbs or 1/2 teaspoon of ground seeds like dill seed, fennel seed etc. for every 4 ounces or 1/2 cup of butter which has been softened to room temperature.

Herb butters can be used to flavor to cooked foods, a way to rev-up your morning toast, or even as an appetizer on crackers.  They can be made in advance, kept in the refrigerator for days or frozen and kept for months. I used to make a bunch at one time, roll them into a ball or pack them into a ramekin and freeze them.  Then when friends stopped by, I grab one out, let it thaw and serve.  They all thought I was a genius and I was just thrifty, by making extra every time I made herb butter.

Some suggestions to get you started

Basil Butter:  1 tablespoon dried basil and 1-1/2 teaspoon dried parsley. Use on green beans, summer squash or zucchini. It is equally delicious on top of poached eggs, noodles or for sautéed fish.

Fine Herbs Butter:  1-1/2 teaspoon parsley; 3/4 teaspoon tarragon; 1/2 teaspoon rosemary; 1/2 teaspoon chives. This is delicious on cheese and egg dishes or can be used on fish, meats, or vegetables.

Mint Butter:  Combine 1 tablespoon of mint and 1 tablespoon of lemon choice with the butter. Add the lemon juice gradually to prevent curdling. This is ideal with lamb or can be used on new potatoes, carrots or green peas.

Mixed Herb Butter:  Add 3/4 teaspoons of each of the following dried herbs – chervil, chives, dill, mint and tarragon plus 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. This is great on noodles or broiled tomatoes or can be used on broiled fish or meat.

Sage Butter:  1 teaspoon dried sage; 1/2 teaspoon dried celery leaves or 1/4 teaspoon celery seed; 1 teaspoon onion juice; 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Use it on poultry, lamb chops, veal, or vegetables.

Tarragon Butter:  2 teaspoons dried tarragon; 1-1/2 teaspoon dried parsley; 1 Tablespoon lemon juice. This adds a unique flavor to tomato dishes, eggs, cheese, or noodles. It can also be used on lamb or fish.

Lemon butter: 1 teaspoon lemon peel; 2 teaspoons dried lemon balm; 1 Tablespoon lemon juice.

When you have made the butter spoon it into ice cube molds or candy molds and use within 2 days. Alternatively, if you want to keep it longer, freeze it.  Remove it from the freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature for several hours before it is required. 

These are just a few ideas as the possibilities are endless. Try experimenting with your own favorite combinations. You should be able to think of many more recipes to make your own herb butter.

And if you want to save the hassle, the Backyard Patch has a multitude of pre-blended Herb Mixes formulated just for making herbal butters.  You can find them all right here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=370330738928&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT