Every summer, we spend two or three months in France, right on the coast, where we rent the same house every year. It’s not really a vacation so much as real life for a few months. We can really relax; we don’t feel rushed, and we're able to blend into regular life in the place we’re staying. While we were there this year, I really became enamored with eating a lot of fresh herbs. Almost every meal, herbs played a huge part.
I’ve always known that herbs are incredibly healthy. They lower the inflammatory response to eating food. They modulate the damage to fats and the oxidation of things like cholesterol. Herb-rich marinades are fantastic for protecting meat from high-heat cooking, mitigating the formation of carcinogens when integrated into the cooking process. So, you’re grilling steak or lamb chops over charcoal, an herb marinade is protective. Tastes better and is better for you. Tastes better for a reason, not just happenstance.
But what was really interesting and quite a revelation this summer was using herbs as food directly. There were herb-rich sauces, essentially varieties of chimichurri, that you could pour over steak. And they were pretty much like a liquid salad.
There were actual salads, made of herbs, particularly parsley and thyme with tomatoes, goat cheese, and a nice vinaigrette. Incredibly refreshing and extremely potent salads that you don’t need to eat a massive amount of to get the desired effects.
This is something I’ll be bringing home and incorporating into my meals—keeping tons of fresh herbs on hand to chop up and whip into a quick salad. Here’s a basic one that I’ve really been liking:
- Four parts parsley
- One part thyme
- Tomato
- Cucumber
- Onion
- A robust hard cheese like feta or pecorino Romano
- Primal Kitchen Greek Vinaigrette, or lemon juice and olive oil if you don’t have any
Dice it all up, dress it, salt and pepper to taste, and serve with steak. Incredible.
