Posts Tagged ‘Herbs’

Long Life Herbs

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

Beyond a Magimix or a hand mixer, I’m not big on kitchen gadgets, but this little discovery has become indispensable in a very short space of time.

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The Herb Saver pretty much does what it says on the tin. I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of spending above the odds for a bunch of fresh herbs at the supermarket, only to find that two or three days later that they are wilted, soggy and unusable. For those of us without a River Cottage style herb garden and limited outside space, there aren’t many alternatives but to keep buying packaged herbs and dealing with the fact that some will go to waste. Until now.

The Herb Saver gets round the wilting issue by keeping the herbs cool and hydrated. You fill the bottom reservoir with cold water,  stand your herbs upright (stalks down) in the water, close them into the ‘chamber’ and then pop into the fridge.

In our experience, the herbs will keep at least three times longer that usual, which has got to be a good thing, right? I’m sure you could achieve similar results with a jam jar, but it also looks good, and fits perfectly into our fridge door.

You can buy the Herb saver on Firebox for £13, which means after a few weeks it will have pretty much paid for itself. Recommended.

Rabbit Ragù

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

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It’s probably not on the top of most people’s shopping list, but rabbit  is in season, it’s pretty cheap, it’s lean, and it’s really tasty. This recipe for a rustic Italian style ragù takes a bit of time and effort, but trust me, it really is worth it. One tip, if your butcher is any good he / she should sell you the rabbit with the liver and kidneys. Don’t throw these away, they’ll add richness to the dish. The ingredients below will serve 4-6 people.

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 large rabbit (around 1kg with the liver and kidneys), jointed

100g pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, chopped

1 large carrot, diced

1 large stick of celery, diced

1 onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

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