Review of 'Herbal Kitchen' cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld

503-248-2015

In Good Taste
located in the Pearl District, Portland, Oregon.
http://www.ingoodtastestore.com

Review of

The HERBAL KITCHEN by Jerry Traunfeld

Photographs by John Granen

William Morrow Publishing, 264 pages, $34.95

In Good Taste Book Review of "THe Herbal Kitchen" by Jerry Traunfeld

March is a tough month. For the Pacific Northwest it means spring with daffodils, tulips, and the ever present rain. For the rest of North America snowstorms and cold weather prevail. Either way, the HERBAL KITCHEN by Jerry Traunfeld should be on your list of must buys for this month. To put it bluntly, I’m crazy about this book! From the lush green cover and wonderful photography by John Granen to the creative herb-filled recipes, this book is not only a good read, but the recipes are fresh and many can be whipped up for a weekday dinner.

Every once in awhile I’ll go to a restaurant and eat something that I would like to replicate. Usually it’s a dish that requires a piece of equipment I don’t have or it has more butter than I want to know about. South Park Seafood Grill, Portland, OR serves Popcorn Chickpeas as an appetizer. I have enjoyed it on several occasions and was sure they would be too complicated to make. I was wrong. Traunfeld has a recipe for these morsels that’s ridiculously easy. Canned, drained chickpeas are sautéed in olive oil until they form a light crust. They are then patted dry to remove excess oil and put back in the pan with a healthy amount of rosemary, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper. The aroma of the garlic and rosemary as it hits the hot pan quickly fills the kitchen. In a blink of an eye my not so silent partner and I devoured the whole dish.

I was on a roll with this book! Next I tried Minted Lentil and Goat Cheese Strudel. I would never have thought of rolling a lentil goat cheese mixture in phyllo. It intrigued me. The herbs du jour were thyme, spearmint, and flat-leaf parsley. Once made I could see using the filling also as an elegant side dish. Rolling the filling in phyllo gave a nice contrast between the soft interior and the crispy exterior. Traunfeld uses melted butter in-between the phyllo layers. For years I have used an olive oil and eggbeater emulsion with excellent results and less fat calories.

My not so silent partner isn’t a hanger steak kind of guy. But since I am the forager and cook I sometimes “forget” his dislike and buy this humble, flavorful, reasonably priced, piece of meat. Traunfeld has a fabulous marinade that is perfect. Soy sauce, sugar, garlic, onion, rosemary, and verbena leaves (with the suggestion of lemon zest, which I used) are all chopped and mixed together. Pour it in a plastic bag with the hanger steak and marinate. I let it sit in the fridge over-night and after scraping off the marinade I seared the meat and finished it on high heat in the oven. Naturally this is a grill item but it’s too early for me. The meat caramelized beautifully and the lemon zest was a perfect counterpoint to the soy sauce. It also opened up the rosemary flavor. The dish was a hit and I suppose next time I will use Traunfeld’s alternative suggestion of flank steak to placate my other half.

There are two salmon recipes using the same cooking technique. One is a Side of Salmon slow-roasted in Dill, and the other is individual pieces slow roasted with a spring herb sauce. Either-way the fish is cooked in an oven at 225°. The result is “glistening, deeply colored, and slightly translucent, as if the fillets were still rare…” it also has a “rich buttery texture and fresh delicate flavor.” I was very impressed with the texture of the cooked fish.

In my past I was wooed with a sky high soufflé. As a variation I want to try the Herbed Skillet Soufflé. This soufflé has a healthy handful of soft-leaved herbs such as basil or dill and gruyere cheese. After the beaten egg whites are folded into the base, the mixture is poured into a hot skillet and popped in the oven to puff and brown. To accompany, a simple salad, fruit, and glass of wine will dash the rainy spring blues away.

There are “botanical beverages” which include a Rosemary Gin and Tonic and a Lavender Mai Tai. Other chapters cover “fast suppers” to “intimate feasts”. Traunfeld garnishes his cookbook with good product suggestions for success, herb improvisations, and directions to start an herb garden.

Even Buzz Lightyear, the Brittany, will be happy with this book. There is a recipe for Good Dog, Bad Dog Biscuits.

My book is filled with bookmark post-its and it will be a long time before this book travels from my kitchen to my culinary library!

Read! Eat! Enjoy!

Judith Bishop