Herbs – what to do when you’ve got too many

On the weekend Fleurieu Gifts had its debut at a very sweet little market tucked away in Aldinga Bay, aptly titled the Aldinga Bay Market. There were some fantastic stalls, lots of Fleurieu produce made by passionate and very clever clogs and there was even a lovely lady spinning wool (which I hadn’t seen for 30 years).

One of the other stallholders was Margaret who was selling her amazing, fresh olive oil, that she and her husband press at their farm which overlooks McLaren Vale in the Fleurieu Peninsula. McLaren Vale is world renowned for its wine (particularly Shiraz) but perhaps not so famous for its olives. Which, by the way, are very good. One try and I was hooked – once you have had fresh, locally produced olive oil, you will shudder at the thought of buying supermarket varieties again. So I purchased said olive oil and have plans to feature more in a Fleurieu Food Hamper in the near future.

Unfortunately, at the end of the market day I was left with a few pots of herbs that didn’t sell. I also have an over-abundance of herbs in my herb garden due to the rain we’ve had lately in Port Noarlunga. Now, I’m not actually sure that you can have too many herbs. But if you’re like me, when you want those herbs to cook with they’re out of season.

Here’s what to do when you’re herbs are out of control:

Get yourself some lovely olive oil and an ice-cube tray and once you’ve chopped up the herbs you like, stuff as many as you can into the tray, then drizzle with olive oil. Stick the tray in the freezer and voila! Herbs and olive oil ready to go whenever you need them. The olive oil freezes to a butter-like consistency (which is the sign of a true, unadulterated olive oil).

You may notice in the picture above that the last four cubes of my tray hold mint and ice. This is because cooking is hard, hot work and is always more fun with a mojito 🙂