Punch Up Your Meals By Cooking with Tisanes

Cooking with tea is as old as drinking tea and perhaps the oldest recipe is tea-marbled eggs. Eggs are hard boiled in tea-infused water with slightly cracked shells. When fully cooked, the eggs are left to cool, and when the shells are removed, the egg whites have a marbled look. Beautiful!

You can do the same recipe, and many others, with your favorite herbal teas. For example, instead of the traditional black tea for marbled eggs, use a Toasted Mate. All mates are perfect for cooking or baking usually done with black or green teas.

Just remember that though content is slight, they do contain caffeine. Rooibos is the perfect substitute as it has so many similar characteristics of true tea but none of the stimulants, or substitute Honeybush for traditional teas in recipes.

The most exciting thing about cooking with herbals is the amazing variety of savories and sweets you can create using these loose leaf or in tea bags or the tea infusion itself. One caveat: brew lightly and use a modest amount to avoid possible bitterness. Less is more!

Here are just a few ways to explore...

AS A SEASONING

By sprinkling whole or crushed tisanes into stocks, soups, stews, stock or water, you can add a finishing touch of freshness just like adding crushed spices to a dish. It’s particularly fun to add crushed leaves when sautéing of frying potatoes, gnocchi, chickpeas or used in a stir fry.

Either sprinkle in like you would a spice or toast them lightly in a hot pan before adding any of the other ingredients (onions, garlic, vegetables or proteins.) Mixed with a little sugar or salt, and crushed, herbals add a liveliness to freshly-made popcorn.

IN A RUB

Adding crushed herbals with other spices provides a delicious crust to proteins from tofu to fish, meats and poultry. Other spices to use could be salt, pepper, crushed dried parsley, onion flakes, garlic flakes or salt, turmeric or the spices you normally would use with your recipe. Just consider how the herbals would complement the spices used. These spices can be picked up at Selefina, fresh and high quality- these spices are sure to make you feel like a professional!

To make: Use the same amount of herbals that you would the other ingredients, or slightly less. Experiment with quantities, but a beginning suggestion is ¼ herbal tea leaves to ¾ mixture of all the other spices. Mix then take a taste. Adjust seasoning.

SUBSTITUTE FOR STOCK OR PLAIN WATER

Use a recipe of half water and have brewed herbal teas to flavor your next serving of cereals (Cream of Wheat and oatmeal), barley, millet, bulgur, white or brown rice, (think risotto!) or pasta.

Cook fruity teas with cereals, rice or chia puddings; rooibos or lemongrass with rice or cannellini beans, or any legume or grain typically cooked in water.

MAKE HERB BUTTERS

These are flavor bomb for so many dishes both savory or sweet. Butter with crushed lemongrass or fruit-flavored tisanes add excitement to plain scones, biscuits, shortbread or other sugar cookies. Lemongrass Ginger or Double Ginger imbued butters used judiciously can add sparkle to stir fries and many other Asian recipes, string beans, chard, spinach or similar veggies heated in a pan on the stovetop.

To make, use unsalted butter. Allow to come to room temperature to make it easier to blend. A good ratio is 1 stick of butter to 1t of herbal tea leaves. Place butter into a small bowl and mix with whole or crushed tea leaves. Shape into a log, wrap securely in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator. Use either to melt on baked potatoes or biscuits, toast or cooked vegetables or in recipes where ever butter is called for as an ingredient. P.S. Freezes well.

INFUSE OTHER DAIRY

When using dairy products like yogurt, milk or cream, consider adding an extra punch of flavor by adding some crushed or brewed leaves like fruity tea, peppermint or spearmint.

Imagine your favorite chocolate cookie, cake or pudding with a dollop of mint-infused whipped cream or an Indian raita sauce. The traditional yogurt condiment is made with yogurt, cucumbers, fresh cilantro and/or mint so our dried mint leaves would be a delicious substitute.

To make: a good ratio is 1 cup of dairy to 1 heaping t of herbal tea or more to taste. In a small saucepan, add the tea and cream or milk and warm slowly to just under boiling. Remove the pan from the heat source and allow to cool completely. Strain out the tea leaves. Use the flavored dairy as you would in savory or sweet recipes.

CONSIDER ARABICA LEAVES

The subtle flavor of coffee is available from the Arabica plant leaves, available in Mocha, Chai, and Earl Grey. These selections make terrific additions to chocolate, mocha or coffee desserts, and the Arabica Lemon Turmeric is fantastic to cook rice in, using half water/half infused tea liquor.

WHEN IN DOUBT, CONSIDER CHAMOMILE

The soft, silky sweet essence of chamomile flowers make them the perfect accent to so many dishes: sprinkle some on salads, add to your favorite fruity jam or preserves, or add a little mystery to home-made vanilla ice cream. When used as a finishing herb or in salads, use the prettiest buds; strain out the chamomile when flavoring cream or butter. You can even flavor vermouth for a distinctive floral note to a cocktail.

OTHER IDEAS

• Put leftover brewed herbals in ice cube trays and use them to chill iced teas or herbals or to flavor grains when you just want a hint of herbs in the dish.

• Make a simple syrup with mint tea. Add a splash of the infused syrup in sparkling water or use anywhere simple syrup is an ingredient. Experiment with lemongrass syrup too for dishes that call for a delicate hint of citrus.

• Return to the source. Use the spent leaves in compost or sprinkle around your veggies or plants for added nutrients.