So you’re thinking about planting some delicious healing herbs? In today’s post I’m going to focus on a few of the herbs you’ll find in European dishes, how to grow them, how best to use them and their healing properties.
Basil
Basil is a very useful, popular herb. It is best planted once the temperatures start to warm up as it is very sensitive to frost, and it needs to be kept moist during extremely hot weather (and even placed in filtered shade). Otherwise, it’s fairly hardy and can also be planted in a pot. Harvest it regularly and remove the flowers if they appear. This will keep the new shoots and  leaves coming. There are many different varieties of basil so try them and find your favourite.
Tomato, cheese, Mediterranean vegetables and olive oil all match perfectly with the flavour of basil. I personally love basil pesto or a Caprese salad (tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella, EV olive oil). I always include it into any Italian sauce and often into salads. Just make sure, if cooking with basil, to always add the leaves at the very end of the cooking process to retain its wonderful flavour. The woody stems can be added earlier.
Medicinally, holy basil is a good digestive, antibacterial, anti fungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and a lovely stress relieving adaptogen (amongst many other things).
Rosemary
A slow growing but very hardy, low care herb that likes to grow in a sunny, well-drained position with good airflow. It’s also happy in a pot. It has a strong flavour so bear that in mind when deciding how much to use.
Always partner with lamb and even pork and I also love it sprinkled over baked potatoes with lashings of butter and garlic.
Medicinally, rosemary is a potent antioxidant, calming and soothing to the digestive system and also great for the circulation (and headaches). It makes a great digestive, nerve and circulation tea by simply bruising then seeping a sprig in hot water. When I was a student way back when I would always rub a sprig of Rosemary between my palms and then inhale the scent deeply to boost my alertness (the things naturopathic students do)! I really felt it helped spark me up (and was a great exam aid).
Thyme
There are lots of different varieties of thyme, my favourite is common thyme and lemon thyme. It likes a sunny position and well-drained moist soil. It will also grow happily in a pot.
I love thyme with mushrooms, chicken, lamb and fish. Add lemon thyme towards the end of cooking or the lemon scent will disappear.
Thyme is a fabulous antibacterial herb, especially for the respiratory system. It is great for drying up mucous and reducing coughs. A gargle of thyme tea soothes a sore throat. It is also very anti parasitic to the digestive tract.
Tarragon
This is a less popular herb where people either love or hate it’s delicate aniseed flavour. It likes a sunny, or partially shaded position and moist, well-drained soil. It will also grow in a pot.
It is most commonly encountered in béarnaise sauce on steak or in stuffing. I think it is a match made in heaven with chicken and often stuff it under the skin when I roast.
Medicinally, tarragon has been used empirically to calm the stomach (relieves stomach cramps) and generally assist digestion and liver function. It is also anti-parasitic.
This information is solely for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice or to take the place of medical advice. Use these herbs in your cooking for their flavour and pure deliciousness. For more information on their medicinal uses, please seek the advice of a health care practitioner.
See this delicious, healing recipe which incorporates all of these herbs and more, click here.
I plan to post about other herbs soon, so stay tuned. Â Which of these herbs to do use the most in the kitchen? Â
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Lynsay says
I love Vietnamese mint. It makes your dishes taste much fancier than they actually are 🙂
Georgia Harding says
I agree, Vietnamese mint is my all time favourite herb (looking forward to writing up Asian herbs). Thanks for sharing, G x
Lucy says
Very helpful! We’re about to start our vege garden in our new place… and to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to plant and how to care for them… great tips here, thanks! x
Georgia Harding says
Thanks Lucy. Stand by for tomorrows post which has lots of very creative herb garden ideas! G x
Candice Daniel says
I have been growing all of these herbs for a while now for my cooking and I absolutely love them. Nice to know they have more benefits than I realised! Thanks : )
Georgia Harding says
Yes, as the saying goes ‘let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’ G x
Rosemary says
I am having a difficult time with my health so I am always looking for health strategies that may help me to live a little more comfortably your web site gives me hope that good food can indeed be very helpful.
Georgia Harding says
So thrilled to be able to inspire and support you a little Rosemary. Yes, we eat several times a day and each meal is an opportunity to nourish the cells of our body and heal. Wishing you all the very best G x
chelsea says
loved reading this, at the moment we have rosemary, thyme and lemon thyme in small pots that are doing well – in that i haven’t killed them and am enjoying adding them to many of your recipes, especially as we head into snot and sore throat season 😉 I’m thinking of putting in more of the same before i use the entire plant up !
Georgia Harding says
So pleased you enjoyed it Chelsea. I couldn’t do without my herb garden. We’ve recently moved form acreage (where i had three large raised garden bed for herbs and veggies) to a tiny 400sq/m block and I’ve managed to build a herb wall -so good! G x
Mirella Morolli says
A herb garden is such a great way to have handy a way to add flavour to different dishes, whilst also benefiting from their healing proprieties. And save money on buying them all the time too! Tarragon is next in my list to grow. Love this post Georgia x
Georgia Harding says
It is so great to have one, I just love mine G x