This was Sister Tess’s first show after a trip to the North and South extremities of Europe, Finland (where they have porridge for lunch) and Sicily (where they have icecream in a bun for breakfast).  More about those two fascinating places soon.  During this show Sisters T and B talked about the wonderful carambola or starfruit, a delicious and beautiful golden fruit that grows well in our area.  And sister T played an interview recorded at the Byron Bay Herb Nursery with Debbie Shortis, the fabulous belly herbologist.  Deb talked about ways to use herbs in mixes. The traditional bouquet garni , woody herbs like thyme, sage, rosemary, bay, tied together so they can be easily removed at the end of cooking.  Herbes fines, or tender herbs like chervil, tarragon, parsley, fennel tops, dill, that are great chopped together and added at the very end of cooking to zest up winter dishes : soups, mashes, casseroles.  And her own invention, an Asian bouquet garni to tie together,add to curries and remove, choosing from kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, cinnamon, ginger, curry leaf, coriander root or horseradish root.

These are a couple of recipes that get Deb’s fresh and herbal seal of approval.  The crepe is inspired by one on “The Cook and the Chef” ABC TV show.

HERB CREPE
Serves 4
(To go in any soup)
2 tablespoons flour
2 eggs
3-4 tablespoons milk
Salt and pepper
‘fines herbes’- 1 tablespoon each of parsley, tarragon, chives, chervil and dill frond,
all chopped very finely.
Put flour in a bowl, stir in the eggs and then gradually beat in the milk to make a thin batter. Season, add herbs and let rest for 30 mins. This crepe is about the herbs more than it is about the crepe. The batter is just a boat to carry the herbs upon the soup.
Heat a heavy pan and brush lightly with both a little oil and butter. Add crepe mix and swirl around the pan to form a thin crepe. Cook on very low heat without adding much colour, flip and set aside. Roll the crepe and cut into thin strips.
Place a few strands of crepe ribbon in the bottom of each serving bowl before adding the soup of your choice.

CARROT AND CHERVIL SOUP
50gms butter
275grams chopped carrots
50gms plain flour
1ltre chicken stock
½ cup of chopped chervil
Salt and pepper
Melt butter in saucepan and gently sauté the carrots for 5 mins. Stir in the flour, then stock and seasoning. Bring soup to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 30mins. Allow to cool slightly then purée the soup in a blender. Return to pan add the chervil and gently bring back to the boil. Serve hot or chilled with a swirl of cream or yogurt and a chervil garnish.
(recipe from “ The Complete Book of Herbs” by Lesley Bremness 1990)

For lots more recipes and herb information, go to the Byron Bay Herb Nursery site
www.byronherbs.com.au

FROM THE BELLY LAB : MUSSELS WITH TENDER HERBS by sister T

I made this the night before the interview, inspired by Deb’s enthusiasm for mixing up lots of fresh green things.  I just went around the garden and picked lots of whatever was looking good, parsley and chervil and chives, a little nasturtium and a few mustard leaves.  There was at least a loosely packed cup of chopped greens. I opened the mussels in a big pot with chopped garlic, butter and a glass of wine (one for the pot, one for the cook), and just tossed the herbs in at the end.  Much nicer than plain old parsley moules marinieres.

starfruit photo by Pratheep P S, www.pratheep.com

STAR FRUIT OR CARAMBOLA

The star fruit  has been grown in parts of Asia for hundreds of years— it may have originated in Sri Lanka and Indonesian Moluccas.
They are best consumed when ripe, when they are yellow with a light shade of green. It will also have brown ridges at the five edges and feel firm. An overripe fruit will be yellow with brown spots (so the sources say – we still like them that ripe, obviously minus the brown bits).

The fruit is entirely edible, including the slightly waxy skin. It is sweet yet tart, a complex tropical flavour, and extremely juicy.

Carambola is rich in antioxidants and vitamin C , you may need to be careful of overconsumption if you have liver problems possibly cos of their oxalic acid content.

– To grow : tropical, sub tropical small tree, full sun,water, good drainage, fertilise 3 x year, can propagate by air layering – wrap soil around a branch and wait for roots.  If you grow them from seed they may bear sour fruit.

– To prepare : wash, remove ends and ridges and seeds

– To cook :
fruit salads – the main way you will see starfruit, but there is so much more you can do!  In China and India unripe fruit is used cooked as a veg.
Spicy thai salads (even  rosepetal with chicken and prawn http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaisnacks/r/rosepetalsalad.htm) they introduce a  sweet/sour element.
Juices, drink decoration, cake topping eg pavlova, upside down cake, muffins – substitute in pineapple recipes, the star slices hold their shape if you are a bit gentle.
Salsas with eg cucumber, mint, chilli to put on fish or chicken
Raita – the yogurt side dish, serve with curry, instead of cucumber raita
Pickle whole