Great for Italian Cuisine
Oregano – True Greek gives that great tangy and zesty flavour of Europe, especially Italy and Greece. Oregano (common) is less pungent but sweeter so you can choose which you like best!
Common Oregano is great used here in this recipe for baked feta, tomatoes, oregano and lemon from TVNZ’s Good Morning Show – so simple and full of flavour – but one of the best things about oregano is that it stores well when dried or frozen (who would have thought!).
A handful of fresh herbs from the garden (oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme) is easy to put in the freezer,
So here’s the “good oil” – 9 Steps for Freezing Herbs
- Choose firm (eg. above), fresh herbs, from the garden.
- You can chop them finely, leave them in larger sprigs and leaves or mix and match.
- Pack the ice cube trays about 2/3 full of herbs.
- You can mix up the herbs, too; think about freezing a mixture of sage, thyme, and rosemary to add to winter roast chickens and potatoes!
- Pour extra-virgin olive oil (good quality is worth it) or melted, unsalted butter over the herbs.
- Cover lightly with gladwrap and freeze overnight.
- Remove the frozen cubes and store in freezer containers or small bags.
- Don’t forget to label each container or bag with the type of herb (and oil) inside!
- Use herb cubes for winter stews, roasts, soups, and potato dishes which usually start with oil, and so you can take a herb cube out of the freezer and use this as the base of your dish. Cook the onions and garlic in this herb-infused oil and let the taste of herbs spread through your whole dish.
Soft-leaved herbs like mint, basil, lemon verbena, and dill are usually added raw to a dish, and they don’t respond as well to this kind of preserving. Their fresh taste is changed in the freezer, and honestly, I don’t choose to freeze these herbs at all, with the exception of homemade basil pesto.
