Forgotten herbs

Often, the herbs used for cooking and medicine were also the ones most revered for their supernatural powers. Rosemary, for example was burnt as an incense to cleanse and purify a room. It was also worn to aid memory loss and preserve youth. Sage was once known as salvia salvatrix or “sage the saviour” and was reputed to promote longevity in people who drank it in daily infusions. It’s clear that Mediterranean herbs have played an important part of people’s culture and wellbeing for thousands of years. Records date back to 2800BC when the ancient Egyptians used herbs for dyes, perfumes, and food.

In our kitchen at the restaurant, we believe that bland food can easily be livened up with the addition of a few herbs and they can also help to enhance and bring out the natural flavours of food in a similar way to salt. We also like to focus on lesser known, sometimes forgotten herbs and as a result our menu is scattered with references to sweet cicely and bergamot, woodruff, and hyssop etc.

Hyssop is often mentioned in the bible and has been used for millennia as a holy herb, consecrated for cleaning holy places. Its name comes from the Hebrew word adobe or ezob, which literally means "holy herb".

The fresh Hyssop is looking awesome in our herb garden right now. It’s a strong-flavoured aromatic herb from the Mediterranean region, like rosemary or lavender and was popular during the Middle Ages as flavouring for soups and stuffing’s, but now its main use is in the distillation of herb liqueurs such as the French Chartreuse. It’s less common now so quite hard to come by, but the young leaves can be used in cooking to flavour chicken and chopped and scattered onto salads or used to flavour soups, stews, and fruit dishes. Hyssop is said to aid the digestion of fatty or rich foods. It also makes excellent honey, as the bees are attracted to its beautiful blue flowers.

We love to serve hyssop with local spring lamb at the restaurant. Try this delicious slow cooked lamb shoulder and don’t worry, if you can’t find fresh hyssop you can also substitute it with fresh rosemary or thyme.

Lavender, apart from looking great in the garden, is an incredibly versatile herb for cooking. Fresh edible flowers have made a bit of a comeback recently as enhancements to both the flavour and the appearance of food in Restaurants recently.

As a herb, lavender has been in documented use for over 2,500 years. In ancient times the Egyptian’s, Phoenicians, and peoples of Arabia used lavender for mummification and perfume. The Greeks and the Romans bathed in lavender scented water and it was from the Latin word "lavo" meaning "to wash" that the herb took its name. As member of the same family as many of our most popular Mediterranean herbs, I'm pleased to see that it is slowly returning to our kitchens as its sweet, floral flavour, and citrus tones can add an interesting note to so many dishes. It can also be substituted for rosemary in many savoury recipes and the flowers look beautiful and taste good too in a glass of Cava or Champagne.

Slow-cooked Shoulder of Spring Lamb with lemon, garlic & hyssop

Traditionally, a shoulder of lamb was always one of the cheaper cuts but if you cook it long and slow it will result in the most tender and juicy meat. Here in Mallorca, you can find small, delicious lamb shoulders for 1-2 persons so you can adjust the cooking time depending on the size of the shoulder.

Ingredients Serves 4

• 1.8 kg shoulder of lamb
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 hyssop sprigs
• 8 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1 x ½ lemon, grated zest and juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250ml chicken stock
• 100ml white wine
• Seasoning

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170˚C, gas mark 3.
2. Put the onion, 2 hyssop sprigs and 4 garlic cloves in the bottom of a roasting tin. Peel the remaining garlic and strip the leaves from the remaining hyssop. Put in a pestle and mortar with the lemon zest and olive oil and crush gently until you have a very coarse paste.
3. Place the lamb shoulder in the roasting tin so it sits on top of the onion, garlic and hyssop and cut several small slashes on the top of the joint. Rub the garlic, lemon and hyssop paste all over the lamb and into the cuts, season with salt and pepper. Pour the chicken stock and white wine around the lamb and wrap the roasting tin tightly in a double layer of foil.
4. Roast for 2 hours 30 minutes. Uncover the tin and discard the foil.
5. Turn the oven up to 200˚C, gas mark 5 and roast the lamb for another 30 minutes to allow the skin to crisp up.
6. Remove the lamb from the roasting tin and place on a platter.
7. Pass the cooking liquid through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Remove the fat from the surface with a spoon (there might be quite a lot) and bring to the boil for one minute. Add the lemon juice and pour over the lamb. Serve immediately.

Chocolate and lavender tart

This rich, decadent chocolate & lavender tart works really well with red fruits and vanilla ice cream. If you can’t find lavender flowers you can substitute with a sprig of fresh rosemary or a few green cardamom pods. I sometimes make this tart with eucalyptus and it’s also a delicious alternative.

Ingredients serves 6-8

For the pastry:

• 120g plain flour
• 60g icing sugar
• 50g chilled butter, diced
• 1 whole egg
• 1tbsp cold water
• A pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 180g dark chocolate, chopped
• 100g butter
• 80g plain flour
• 140g sugar
• 6 whole eggs
• 1tbsp dried lavender flowers

To serve:

• 2tbsp dark cocoa powder

For the sweet pastry:

1. Place the butter, flour and salt in a food processor and pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, cold water and egg and pulse again, just enough to incorporate the egg. Scrap out the pastry and mix gently until it comes together to form a firm dough. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 3mm thick.
3. Line a 23cm tart ring with the pastry and rest in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 (180C fan)
5. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork and line the pastry case with a circle of baking parchment or foil and fill with baking beans. Bake the pastry blind for 10 minutes, or until just lightly golden-brown, then remove the paper and beans and return the tart to the oven to cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

For the filling:

1. Gently heat the butter, lavender flowers and chocolate in a medium pan over a low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and flour.
2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time and pass through a fine sieve.
3. Place the pastry case on a baking tray. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pastry case, filling it right to the top and place in the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes until just set.
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Dust with cacao powder, cut into portions, and serve with vanilla ice cream and fresh berries.