Spaghetti Herb Recipes
My favorite way to learn about herbs is to get into the kitchen and start cooking with them. Whether it’s using culinary herbs to really make a meal, cooking up a syrup, decocting a strong tea, or making salves with herb infused oils, playing with herbs adds so much joy to my life! I hope you have the opportunity to experience this same joy knowing that your efforts will provide amazing rewards.
A note on my recipes, each recipe is a jumping off point. Your taste preferences will be different than mine. Personally, I only follow a recipe exactly once. I like to get to know what the author was thinking and taste what they had in mind and then adjust for my own preferences. For instance, you may not like as much garlic in your pesto as I do or you may prefer walnuts to pine nuts.
Let’s dive in shall we?
Oregano:
Oregano fresh or dried is a fantastic addition to many dishes. I like to add dried oregano to my taco seasoning blend when cooking up a big pot of beans each week. I also am sure to add it to my Italian herbs blend with all the rest of the herbs we will feature in today’s article. Our first recipe will be for a spaghetti sauce made with fresh tomatoes and herbs.
Fresh Tomato and Herb Spaghetti Sauce
The size of your batch of sauce will be determined by the number of tomatoes you have. The recipe below will make about 4 cups of sauce.
Ingredients:
12-16 ripe organic or homegrown tomatoes
2-4 cloves of garlic minced (the small pieces that come off not the entire bulb)
A total of ½ cup chopped fresh herbs including oregano, basil, rosemary and any other herbs you enjoy in a tomato sauce.
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of red pepper flakes
Directions:
(Optional) Cut an x on the bottom of your tomatoes, then blanch your tomatoes 1-2 at a time in boiling water for 30 - 60 seconds until the skin at the x starts to become loose. Then plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process. This will aid in peeling your tomatoes if you desire.
(Optional) Once cool enough to handle peel your tomatoes starting at the x you cut on the bottom.
Dice your tomatoes and add to a cookpot big enough to hold all of your ingredients.
Add the remaining ingredients.
Cook on low stirring occasionally for around 40 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
If you make a large batch of sauce, you can then pressure can the extra for later. I tend to skip the peeling process and eat the skins as well, but this will be very noticeable as the skins tend to slide off and roll up onto themselves adding a different texture to your sauce.
Thyme
Thyme is an herb that I use most often when cooking meat or split pea soup. I find it a very nice compliment to beef stew as well as red meat roasts.
Split Pea Soup
Split Peas Soup is a favorite Winter meal in our house, so I make sure to dry plenty of thyme in preparation for this dish.
Ingredients:
2 cups dried split peas (a mix of green and yellow will make a creamier soup)
1 pound bacon
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 Tbsp dried thyme leaves
2 cups fresh green vegetables of your choice (spinach and other green leafy vegetables work well but I’ve also used green beans, broccoli, and zucchini)
4 cups stock, vegetable broth, or water
4 cloves garlic minced
1 small onion diced
4 organic carrots peeled and diced
Directions:
Soak your peas in water overnight - don’t skip this step unless you want crunchy soup!
Cook your bacon until crispy. Pour the grease into a ½ pint canning jar to use in cooking later. Chop up the bacon into bite-sized pieces.
While the bacon is cooking, drain and rinse your peas and prepare your vegetables.
Saute onions in a bit of the bacon grease until translucent then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
Add the remaining ingredients to your soup pot excluding the bacon (we will add this later).
Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about an hour stirring occasionally.
Once your peas begin to breakdown and form the creamy base of your soup, add the bacon.
Cook for 5 minutes longer.
Serve while hot.
Rosemary
Rosemary is another herb I like to keep around. Here in NW Oregon, it grows year round, so I have access to it whenever I need it. I do still dry some for teas as well, as Rosemary is a great herb for aiding memory and learning.
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
This is one of my go-to side dishes when a few more carbs are wanted.
Ingredients:
2-3 pounds organic small red potatoes cut into 1” cubes
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried rosemary or 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Toss your potatoes with the olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper
Spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet (use two if you need to)
Bake for 20 minutes, stir and flip your potatoes and return to the oven
Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until they have reached your desired level of crispiness.
Sage
Sage is an herb I often use when cooking poultry dishes or fried and laid on top of creamy dishes like polenta or mashed potatoes. For this recipe we will take a turn and make a sore throat soothing honey.
Sage infused honey for sore throats
Nothing soothes a sore throat like a warm mug of tea with honey, except for a warm mug of sage honey tea. Just add a spoonful or two of this honey to your mug and top off with hot water. Sip and soothe your throat.
Ingredients:
Raw local honey
Fresh sage leaves - chopped as small as you reasonably can.
Directions:
Fill a jar loosely packed with chopped sage leaves leaving about ½ inch of space at the top.
Pour honey into the jar of sage. Bubbles will come to the surface slowly as the honey fills in all the nooks, so be patient and top off the jar once the bubbles have stopped.
Close your jar up with a lid, wash away any errant honey, and store in a dark temperature controlled space such as a pantry or closet.
Once a day, flip your jar over.
Let the sage and honey blend together for at least 2 weeks (I wait for 6).
Strain out the sage and compost it somewhere that won’t attract ants into your home.
This honey will keep for about a year and doesn’t need to be refrigerated.
Basil:
There are three things I use basil for: pesto, tomato sauce, and Bruschetta. As a gluten-intolerant person, I am so grateful for our local gluten-free bakery - New Cascadia. Their french bread makes my summer once the tomatoes are ripe on the vines!
Basil, Mozzarella, and Tomato Bruschetta
Ingredients:
Fresh basil leaves sliced into ribbons or left whole
Fresh organic, grass-fed Mozzarella
Fresh organic tomatoes
Loaf of your favorite french bread or a baguette
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Directions:
Slice your bread into quarter inch rounds and brush with olive oil
Layer mozzarella, tomato, and basil on top of each round of bread
Drizzle with more olive oil and a thin line of balsamic vinegar
Grill or Broil your creations until the bread is toasted and the mozzarella is gooey
Rejoice in the bounty of Summer!
Parsley:
Parsley is such a great herb to keep around. It can be incorporated into many dishes to add a bright fresh flavor when sprinkled fresh on top of dishes. It’s also often incorporated into pestos, soups, and salads. One of my favorite dishes that highlights the flavors of parsley is tabouli. Traditionally, tabouli is made with bulgur wheat, but as a gluten-free person, I like to make it with quinoa.
Quinoa Tabouli
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley chopped small
½ cup mint leaves chopped small
2 ripe organic tomatoes diced small
½ red onion diced small
Juice of 1 small lemon
1 cucumber seeded and diced small
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Add all ingredients together
Drizzle olive oil and stir to combine until well mixed and no longer dry
Serve immediately or chill for 1 hour before serving
Enjoy as a side salad
Well, I don’t know about you, but I sure am hungry now. I’m especially eagerly anticipating fresh ripe tomatoes from my Summer garden! Let me know if you have any favorite recipes that feature these herbs that you would like to share. I’m always eager to try something new!
To our health!