Cooking with fresh herbs brings food to life

Try the grassy finish of a handful of chives on your next salad. Toss lemon thyme into a pan of roasted potatoes. Or savor the anise flavor of tarragon in a citrus salad.

Fresh herbs are everywhere these days, in recipes, restaurants and supermarket produce aisles, and some local chefs share their secrets on how to use herbs to amplify flavor.

As chef/owner of Lento, a farm-to-table restaurant, Art Rogers prepares his butternut squash ravioli in a rich sage brown-butter sauce. Rogers says the smoky, rustic aroma of sage pairs well with the savory sweetness of squash.

Every summer, a favorite on Lento's menu is their Caprese salad with fresh tomato, mozzarella and Genovese basil. According to Rogers, basil, with its sweet yet peppery taste, is center stage in his Caprese.

"Both of our herb gardens will be brimming with four types of basil this summer: Thai basil, purple basil, lemon basil and a variety called Piccolo Verde Fino featuring small leaves and an intense flavor."

In peak season, Lento's gardens overflow with fresh sage, several varieties of thyme, chives, parsley, marjoram, chervil, rosemary, mint and oregano.

At home, Rogers likes to make tabouli with bulgur wheat, onions, garlic, cherry tomatoes — when in season — and lots of fresh parsley.

"Parsley with its mildly bitter taste adds freshness to almost any dish," says Rogers. "Parsley is an herb that needs to be used right away to retain flavor."

Pastry Chef Amber Odhner

Pastry chef and owner of Eat Me Ice Cream, Amber Odhner finds inspiration from Middle East influences for her homemade ice creams.

Odhner serves up a scoop of creamy white ice cream with flecks of green pistachios in her pistachio mint and cardamom ice cream.

She starts with an infusion made from fresh pistachios and warm milk.

"The heat extracts the oil from the nuts, then we add cardamom bitters to give it floral notes," says Odhner, who finishes off her flavoring with fresh mint.

Odhner also offers homemade lavender goat cheese ice cream made with dried lavender blossoms.

"We use eggs in our ice cream so it's like a custard. The goat cheese is savory and lavender adds just a hint of bouquet.

Chef Mark Cupolo

Chef Mark Cupolo uses lots of basil in the Italian fare he serves at his restaurant, Osteria Rocco.

"Tomatoes and basil are such a classic," says Cupolo. He adds mint to his savory dishes, including a seafood salad on the menu.

An orange and fennel salad with field greens, pistachios and orange vinaigrette is also popular with guests.

"Fresh fennel is an acquired taste for some. In the Italian kitchen, it's used in salads and soups for its delicate, sweet flavor."

Chef Phil Yautzy

Chef Phil Yautzy of Warfield's Restaurant, Lounge & Bakery sings the praises of basil for Italian cuisine but turns to cilantro for Spanish dishes.

His citrus pomegranate salad with Belgium endive, arugula, grapefruit, blood orange segments, chives, tarragon and goat cheese tossed with a pomegranate vinaigrette caters to the adventurous.

"The zest of citrus is a great base for the licorice notes of tarragon," says Yautzy.

Phil Brock

Phil Brock, general manager (and formerly chef) at Phillips European Restaurant, tosses fresh thyme and parsley in their mussels poached in white wine.

"We use a light lemon dill sauce on our poached salmon with shrimp. The zest of lemon and the bright, aromatic, slightly bitter, taste of fresh dill bring out the flavors in seafood."

Add complexity to any dish by combining sweet and savory ingredients. Herbs with their sometimes fresh, sometimes complex, flavors add depth and aroma to cooking.

Donna De Palma is a Rochester-area freelance writer.

Lento's Butternut Squash Ravioli in Sage Brown Butter Sauce

2 eggs

1 cup semolina flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 butternut squash

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

Pecorino romano cheese to taste

1 stick butter

Handful of fresh sage

Handful of spinach

Crushed amaretti cookies

Mix flours by hand in a bowl and make a well in the center. Crack eggs in the well and mix lightly with a fork, slowly incorporating eggs and flour, then add just enough cold water to make a dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 20 minutes.

Cut one butternut squash in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, season with salt and pepper and rub with olive oil. Cut side down, roast in 400 degree oven until you can push your finger through the skin with no resistance. Flip over and let cool until easy to handle. Purée in a food processor, adding pecorino romano cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Roll out pasta dough and make sheets about 6 inches wide. Put approximately 1 tsp of squash filling every inch down the length of the pasta. Brush edges and in between filling and fold over, pressing around each ravioli to squeeze out any air. Use a pasta cutter to cut out each ravioli. Boil salted water. Drop raviolis and cook for approximately one minute.

Brown one stick of butter in a skillet, being careful not to burn. Shut off heat once browned and throw in a handful of fresh sage. Add raviolis and a handful of spinach. Divide evenly between two bowls, top with pecorino romano and crushed amaretti cookies.

Eat Me Ice Cream's Pistachio, Mint and Cardamom Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk

1 cup unshelled pistachios, finely ground

1 vanilla bean, split open and scraped of seeds

pinch of sea salt

2 cups heavy cream

¾ cup sugar

8 egg yolks

1 cup of packed fresh mint leaves and stems

5 dashes of Fee Brothers cardamom bitters

½ cup of toasted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Bring milk, finely ground, unshelled pistachios, vanilla bean, cardamom bitters and sea salt to just under a boil (165 degrees). Remove from heat and allow to steep for one hour.

Whisk egg yolks with ¼ cup sugar until yolks are pale yellow and have the consistency of mayonnaise. Strain milk mixture and discard the ground pistachios or save for another purpose.

Add heavy cream and remaining ½ cup of sugar to milk and reheat slowly to 170 degrees, stirring with a wooden spoon to prevent scalding. Temper egg yolks with warmed milk and add all of the yolks to milk in a slow, steady stream while constantly stirring. Cook until base thickens and coats both sides of spoon. Remove from heat. Once at room temperature, add fresh mint and allow base to chill for four hours or overnight.