Italian Herb Garden
Ever heard the song “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme?” Chances are that you probably have. But did you know that this song title also pretty much recites a list of herbs often used in Italian cooking? Many people who choose to grow these herbs because of the song don't realize it, but they have just grown themselves an Italian herb garden.
Italian herbs are very popular among herb gardeners because Italian cooking or Italian inspired cooking is so common. Apart from that, herbs from an Italian herb garden are often used in other European dishes, as well as many fusion dishes. What's even better is that these herbs are pretty easy to grow. They're the no fuss type of plant, and that's always great for a gardener on the go!
Every Italian herb garden will have basil. It tastes great in tomato sauce, and adds wonderful flavor and texture to pasta dishes, even ones that are cream or olive oil based. You can also add basil in a marinade or soup, or some fresh fish dishes do well with chopped basil, tomatoes, and white onions on top. Basil is also the main ingredient to pesto sauce!
When growing basil, you can also choose to plant tomatoes alongside it. Basil can make tomatoes taste sweeter and grow better. This means you can have a really fresh and wonderful pasta sauce straight from you garden any time!
Parsley and oregano often go hand in hand in many dishes. Where you find a little bit of parsley, you are likely to find some oregano as well. This is because the flavors complement each other really well. So no Italian herb garden is complete without these two. You can choose to cook these together in a pasta sauce to enhance the delicious flavor of your tomatoes. You can also make great meat marinades with these two. Both these plants will need a lot of sunlight, and so make sure you choose a good spot for them.
Rosemary and sage are also essentials to an Italian herb garden, especially one that was planted for flavoring meat dishes. Like their fellow Italian herbs, these two plants like warm almost balmy weather, but should grow just find in temperate climates for as long as they get a good amount of sunlight. Rosemary and sage can both be kept for a very long time by storing them. Dried rosemary and sage opens up to a lot of other Italian dishes worth trying!
Finally, keep a lot of garlic in stock at your home. An Italian herb garden will contribute to dishes that often need a lot of garlic, which happens to be an essential to Italian cooking. Just remember to use your garlic as prescribed. You don't want to have Dracula fighting breath!
