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The `herb'al quotient

Whip up healthy delicacies with the choicest herbs

Continental cooking can be a lot of fun as you discover how to cook nutritive food that is great to taste. The choicest vegetables and herbs used can add that extra zing to the recipe. Rosemary, for instance, is an herb that's widely used for aroma and flavour. Plus, the herb has medicinal properties. Similarly, asparagus is rich in vitamins and minerals. Soups made from asparagus are a rich source of nutrients.

Chicken envelope with rosemary

Ingredients

Chicken leg - 2
Chicken mince - 100 gm
Chicken bones - 400 gm
Chicken stock - 200 ml
Rosemary (preferably fresh) - 10 gm
Onion - 100 gm
Carrot - 100 gm
Celery - 20 gm
Tomatoes - 50 gm
Potato - 1
Baby corn - 3
Asparagus - 4
Salt to taste
Pepper - 10 gm
Oil - 50 ml

Method: De-bone the chicken legs. Remove excess fat and clean well. Spread the seasoned chicken mince on chicken leg. Wrap it carefully so that the stuffing does not come out. Sear it on a hot plate.

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add chopped onion, carrot, celery and tomatoes. Cook till brown, add chicken bones, fresh rosemary and cook further until it turns dark brown. Add chicken stock. Cook for another 15 minutes and strain.

Take a tray, put seared chicken and pour the sauce. Cover with an aluminium foil and put it under salamander or keep in an oven at 200c for 20 minutes. Take the chicken pieces out and strain the sauce. Season and cook for another five minutes until the mixture thickens.

Wash and scrub the potato well so that it's free of dust. Wrap it up in a piece of aluminium foil and bake in an oven for 25 min at 175c. When cooked, take it out and make a criss cross incision and press at the bottom to expose the cut part; put a dollop of butter.

Boil the vegetables (remove the hard part of asparagus) and strain, add butter and toss with salt.

Arrange all the ingredients on a plate, and serve hot.

Cream of asparagus soup

Ingredients

Asparagus - 400 gm
Carrot - 100 gm
Turnip - 30 gm
Onion - 30 gm
Refined flour - 30 gm
Butter - 30 gm
Milk - 300 ml
A pinch of pepper
Salt to taste

Method: Clean all the vegetables. Roughly chop them and boil. Once boiled and the vegetables are tender, cool and puree. Heat a heavy bottom pan. Add butter and melt on low flame. Add refined flour. Cook it for one minute. Add hot milk and cook till thick. The white is ready. Add pureed vegetables to the white sauce by stirring constantly. Stir the mixture through sieve. Boil the sieved mixture and adjust seasoning. Serve hot garnished with cream.

Button mushroom with rosemary dressing

Ingredients

Button mushroom - 2 cups
Vinegar - 2 tbsp
Fresh chopped rosemary - 1 tsp
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Pepper - 10 gm
Chopped parsley - 1 tsp

Method: Clean button mushroom; blanch it well; drain and cut into halves. Prepare emulsion by mixing vinegar and olive oil, freshly chopped rosemary salt and pepper. Mix this dressing with cut mushrooms. Serve garnished with chopped parsley.

Chocolate mousse cake

Ingredients

Egg yolk - 1 no
Sugar - 20 gm
Rich cream - 100 gm
Milk - 50 ml
Gelatine - 8 gm
Chocolate - 90 gm
Dark sponge - 3 layers
Sugar syrup - 50 ml
Method: Prepare basic custard by cooking egg yolk, sugar and milk on a low flame. Cook till it coats the back of the spoon. Add gelatine to the mixture. Strain it. Add melted chocolate to the strained mixture.

Lightly fold in the whipped cream. Sprinkle sugar syrup on the sponge base. Spread chocolate mixture on alternative layers. Garnish the sponge with some chocolate.

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