Know your herbs

1. ITALIAN PARSLEY The taste: Mild, slightly grassy and sweet with a hint of bitterness. The uses: It adds pizzazz to boiled and buttered new potatoes; can be combined with garlic, olive oil and vinegar to make chimichurri, or garlic and lemon zest to make a gremolata, and it’s a key ingredient in minestrone and tabbouleh.

2. THYME The taste: Slightly minty and warm, with hints of pepper. The uses: No stuffing is complete without thyme. It adds flavour to poultry, pork and beef, lends complexity to sauces and soups, is partial to cheeses such as chevin and works wonders with olives and onions in a tart.

3. ROSEMARY The taste: Aromatic with a slightly peppery, resin-like flavour. The uses: focaccia with a sprinkling of coarse salt; sautéed in butter with mushrooms; used to add flavour to meat dishes, especially pork; immersed in olive oil to make flavoured oil, and sprinkled over veggies or potatoes before roasting.

4. MINT The taste: Somewhat sweet with a fresh, cool aftertaste. The uses: Mint is a great ingredient in drinks, as well as in seafood and lamb dishes; it lifts the taste of fresh fruit, loves peas and adds a new dimension to chocolate and lends zing to meaty dishes when used in a mint sauce.

5. CORIANDER The taste: Grassy and pungent. Some say it tastes soapy or metallic. The uses: Coriander can break the richness of dishes such as chilli con carne, or soften the blow of fiery curries. It loves avocado and works wonders in a tomato salsa, adds flavour to Asian-inspired fish cakes and is a winner in a pesto.

6. SAGE The taste: A warm, pungent and slightly musty taste. The uses: Sage pairs very well with most types of poultry, goes down a treat with pork, and can add substance to stuffings. The leaves are also delicious when fried and crispy, especially when served with oven-roasted pumpkin.

7. BASIL The taste: Sweet with hints of pepper and aniseed. The uses: It’s a key ingredient in Italian pesto, a margherita pizza and Caprese salad. It makes tomato-based sauces and salads sing, lifts seafood dishes, loves watermelon, pineapple and strawberries, and plays well with brinjal and artichokes.

8. OREGANO The taste: A sweet-savoury, pungent taste. The uses: Popular in Italian and Greek recipes, oregano adds depth to tomato-based and meat sauces such as Bolognese. It’s the perfect foil for roast chicken, especially with lemon, and adds gravitas to fresh fish.