Cooking with Rosemary

I have a large rosemary bush in my backyard and use it a lot for cooking. I believe you've answered your own questions with multiple suggestions already: you can remove the sprigs, or finely chop the leaves, or eat the whole leaves, etc...

 

When I make paella I insert a couple of rosemary sprigs and later remove the stems - the leaves have soften and will stay in the final dish. 

 

I've made that Gordon Ramsey baked pork chops recipe, and the leaves are not a problem - but IMO the stems are. You can choose to remove the stems and leave the leaves before plating, or leave everything, in which case each one probably puts the sprigs aside before eating. 

Yes I'm in southern california. Rosemary grows like a weed. Just make sure you get the right kind (there are several kinds that can be eaten, but several other kinds that are for decoration only). 

 

In paella the rosemary softens in the cooking liquid. 

Paella is delicious, you'll have to try it!! 

Some other Mediterranean Rosemary Herb Suggestions:

 

1) Milk fed baby Lamb

2) Focaccia with Extra virgin olive oil & rosemary herb

3) Provençal Chicken with Provençal Herbs: rosemary, thyme, orégano, parsley and a pinch of diced fresh Mint  

4) The exterior rind of Fresh Goat Cheese Varieties ( it is very common to buy Spanish Goat Cheese with Rosemary Herb on the Exterior Part of the Cheese as Goat Cheese has a very minimal Soft Rind ).

5) Breast of Veal Roast

 

On Valencia, Spain Paellas:

 

*** I have never encountered rosemary herb in Paella in Valencia or any other part of Spain and have been here 20 years.

 

We employ: 15 saffron threads soaked in 1 cup of boiled hot water for 20 minutes, Salt, black pepper freshly ground, a pinch of sugar, tomatoes, white wine, Olive Oil, onion, bell pepper red julienne, arborio round Valencian Rice, shellfish, fish, fish  or shell fish stock, chicken optional, pork optional, butter beans optional, and it is very minimally spiced with parsley, thyme and orégano.   

 

*** In Valencian Paella:  chicken, saffron, salt, black freshly ground pepper, Olive Oil, White Wine or Sherry, Spanish sweet sausage, butter beans, onion, red bell pepper, green olives with red pointy peppers stuffed in the interior, onion, garlic, chicken stock or vegetable stock and rabbit  ( which my family and I avoid all fur bearing mammals ) and / or feathered game.

 

Have lovely Labor Day Wkend.

Marge.

Edited by margcata - 9/1/12 at 8:01am

This is my fav Spanish rice recipe http://ca.phaidon.com/agenda/food/articles/2011/may/18/paella-rice-with-rabbit-and-snails/http://ca.phaidon.com/agenda/food/articles/2011/may/18/paella-rice-with-rabbit-and-snails/ it has Rosemary in it. Marge you should go to Burgos and try it.

Kippers,

 

Burgos is a lovely historical small city in October or May when it is not too freezing cold. It has awfully long long winters.  

 

In all honesty, my system prefers Shellfish and Seafood fideuà with vermecelli noodles  Barcelona style verses Paella  unless the rice is Caldoso, meaning Rice in shellfish stock, which is very typical in Alicant verses the Valencian Paella.  

 

 

Have you taste tested Burgos Morcilla = Black Blood Sausage stuffed with onion and rice; also called Black Pudding ?

 

Thank you for posting your link however, my family and I avoid fur bearing mammals.  

 

Have nice wkend.

Marge.

Edited by margcata - 9/1/12 at 8:00am

I have no problem eating the leaves(I assume this is the thorny bits you are talking about, rosemary has no thorns), dry or moist methods, they soften up just fine. Chopping the leaves is perfectly acceptable, but you may want to use a little less since this helps it to release more oils. Some other techniques I use.. sautee a sprig in oil, remove it, then continue to build your dish. I do this mostly for pasta e fagioli and Ceci soup, but the oil could be used to sautee a pork cutlet.. Combine EVO, parsley, lemon zest, chopped garlic, and a few sprigs of rosemary. Use the sprigs to brush grilled fish.

A little help here once again please Marg.

Could you please define:

fideuà (I could not find a translation)

Alicant or Alicante: from wikipedia (Google translate once again did not know this word) Alicante (Spanish: [aliˈkante]) or Alacant (Valencian: [alaˈkant])^[1] is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community

 

TIA,

k~girl

Hello K-girl. There's no translation for FIDEUÁ. It's kind of a paella made with special angel hair noodles. In Spanish, FIDEO = NOODLE.

Check here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fideu%C3%A0

You can find some youtube videos. I like this one:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFInt2N-W-c&feature=related

 

You should give it a try someday - it works wonderfully. I'll have to try parsley/thyme/oregano though, that sounds great too. All fresh herbs I suppose? 

okay, so fideuà is paella in what language then? Google translate could not find it

Apparently some sort of paella with noodles instead of rice: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fideu%C3%A0

Lemon, garlic and rosemary is a classic flavor combination. Excellent on pork, poultry, and lamb.

 

Red wine and rosemary makes for many tasty braises.

 

Rosemary's flavors stand up well on the grill too.

 

I'd lean towards a fine chop or leaving the leaves large so they can be easily avoided. One or the other.

 

I often boil potatoes, cut them in half, brush with olive oil, sprinkle S&P and finely chopped rosemary. Then grill cut-side down to get a nice crust and sexy grill marks. A quick side dish for any grilled meat!

I use more dried than fresh and grind, pound, bash, however you want to look at it,

in my mortar and pestle, basically to a powder and sprinkle on whatever. 

Roasted potatoes: EVOO, Sea Salt and fresh cracked Black Pepper & Rosemary dust ...

YUM!  Is it dinner time yet?

The rosemarinus I've found overlooking Bolinas in Northern California is well worth the taking.  A sprig laid on a chicken breast or over the whole fowl...  Heaven.

I grow Arp rosemary as it will take my zone 5 winters.

French Fries, Ordo & Kaneo,

 

1stly, thanks French Fries & Ordo for assisting Kaneo.

 

Vermicelli, a 1 inch thin pasta variety called Fideuà or Fideos:  replaces the Aborio Round Small Grain Rice in a Paella.

 

*** If you Re- read Post Number 9; Fideuà  is explained.

 

This well known dish is more popular in the Barcelona & Tarragona provinces of Catalonia; north of Valencia.

 

The Fideuà is also prepared in a Paella Metal Pan called a Pallera.

 

The Basic Seafood Recipe is:

 

15 saffron threads or 1/3 teaspoon saffron powder placed in hot water to steep at 115 farenheit degrees for 20 minutes

2 tblsps. pinenuts or hazelnuts or almonds

8 ounces Vermicelli Pasta

1 tsp. smoked sweet Spanish Paprika ( La Vera is the largest exported producer and can be found in Latin Grocers )

3 large peeled and de-seeded fresh juicy ripe tomatoes

3 cloves garlic minced

2 medium onions, spring onions or shallots minced finely

8 ounces of firm white fish of choice

4 ounces of mussels or clams

1/3 cup Olive Oil preferably Spanish Evoo

1 pound of large shrimp

1 lemon for drizzling the juice

 

Hope this assists.

Marge.

French Fries,

 

A sprinkle of fresh herbs on Paella or Fidueà is always an added pleasure. I shall try out the fresh rosemary along with the parsley, thyme & orégano the next time we have it.

 

Smoked Paprika ( cayenne ) from the Spanish firm, La Vera in La Vera, Extremadura is available in all Latin American Groceries is also employed in paellas and fideuàs.

 

Have nice Labor Day.

Marge.

 

For my roasted potatoes try all those same ingredients plus spicy paprika, the juice of one lemon and a few pats of butter.  Then let me know what you think.

We also use a fresh rosemary branch as a brush when grilling chicken. We prepare a lemon S&P brine and "bless" the chicken many times with the rosemary while grilling.

Koukouvagia: i will try those potatoes. Sounds interesting.

I will sis, that sounds really good, I love roasted potatoes, I'm not sure why.  Yukon golds I think are my favorites right now.  As for boiled/steamed I LOVE Okinawain Purple Sweet Potatoes!

Ladies this is my very anal method of making roast spud.

 

Par boil your spuds and chill.Gently infuse duck or goose fat with whatever flavour takes your fancy. Cool the fat till it is just liquid, dunk and coat  each spud placing on a tray. Leave in the fridge overnight for the flavour to impregnate the spud then roast to golden crispy heaven.

Koukouvagia,

 

Thanks for your input. We also like our potatoes roasted or baked with rosemary, evoo and sea salt.

 

Have lovely labor day wkend.

Marge.

 

I love those Yukons myself, probably the best when it comes to roasting for sure.  I'm sidetracking the thread a little here but roasted potatoes may very well be my favorite food in the universe.  I love to throw in some garlic too by the way.  Anyway, I have found that I really really really don't like roasted potatoes when they've been par boiled.  Instead, I cut the potatoes in quarters and season as I stated.  I add plenty of olive oil and butter.  Then I seal the pan with foil and put into a 400F oven for about an hour.  The potatoes steam in their own juice this way, they never dry out.  I then uncover and continue roasting until they're golden.  It's remarkable how great they turn out.  When parboiling they always end up tasting like.... water.

Miss KK, cover them is tin foil? I never thought of that one, as I was reading your post I was thinking, wait butter? Wouldn't it burn, but now that makes sense to me, and DELISH ! I'm with you, I 1/4 the suda and just throw them on the tray, season and bake uncovered,turning half way through, cut sides down until crispy GB&D!!!

Yes, foil.  It serves the same function as parboiling, except instead of throwing them in a pot of flavorless water they steam in their own juices right in the oven.  Potatoes have lots of water in them and I consider start to finish true roasting.  I never turn them because I usually end up breaking them.  Plus they get a nice little undercrust on the bottom of the pan that's to die for.  Butter does not hurt, especially in the steaming process.  Then when you remove the foil they turn golden, I've never had a problem with them burning - the only time my potatoes burn is when I add dijon mustard or mustard powder to the seasoning.