COOKING WITH THYME

Appropriately enough, this section contains recipes using thyme. Some of these I have made before and others are ones that I have found from among my many cookbooks and would like to try, but all are recipes that include thyme in the ingredients.

"The addition of freshly chopped thyme adds an earthy, floral flavor to casseroles, entrees, salad dressings, sauces and soups. To prepare for chopping, hold the root end of a sprig of thyme with both sets of your index finger and thumb. Hold the end tightly with one set, while using the other to quickly scale down the thick stem, removing all of the leaves. Discard the stem and use a sharp knife to chop the leaves." [excerpted Fitness and Freebies]

Featured Recipe

This interesting Tomato Sauce recipe using thyme, I found in Irish Countryhouse Cooking, a book I bought at one of our library's many book sales. The book, published in 1988 by Weathervane, was edited by Rosie Tinne and contains a collection of the more interesting recipes of the time being served at "country houses" in Ireland as compared to the the plainer "cottage cooking" recipes that Ireland had been known for in the past.

This tomato sauce was served at Snaffles in Dublin, Ireland, a small, basement restaurant with a 19th-century atmosphere. Snaffles, under the kitchen rule of Rosie Tinne herself, was the most respected and fashionable Irish restaurant in the early seventies.

TOMATO SAUCE
Nellie Gallagher's Recipe

2 ounces butter
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/3 pint sour cream
2 tablespoons celery, chopped
2 tablespoons vinegar
sprig

3 tomatoes, fresh or canned
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons carrot, chopped
salt and pepper

Cook onion with tomatoes and celery for 15 minutes. Add other ingredients except sour cream and cook for 20 minutes. Put through a fine sieve or blender. Replace in saucepan and bring to boil. Add sour cream.

Recipe from the restaurant Snaffles, in Dublin, Ireland
from Irish Countryhouse Cooking

CARROTS WITH ONIONS

1 pound carrots, thinly sliced (3 cups)
1 small onion, sliced and separated into rings
3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Dash pepper
1 tsp. margarine

In a 11/2-quart casserole combine carrots, onion, water, thyme, salt, garlic powder, and pepper.

Cook on 100% power (high) for 6 to 8 minutes (10 to 12 minutes in low-wattage ovens) or till carrots are crisp-tender, stirring once.

Add margarine; toss to coat vegetables. Makes 4 servings.

GREEN BEANS WITH THYME AND CASHEW NUTS

1 lb.     green beans
3 Tbs sunflower oil
3 oz.     cashew nuts
1 ea.     garlic clove, chopped
1 Tbs. chopped thyme.

Slice beans.
Boil them in lightly salted water until they are just tender.
Drain them.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Put in the cashew nuts & stir until they are golden brown.
Remove from the skillet.
Increase the heat.
Put in the beans & garlic.
Stir until the garlic begins to brown.
Mix in the nuts & thyme & remove the pan from the heat.

i've made sauteed green beans with garlic for years and it's very tasty. Green beans seem to need salt to bring out the flavor. I usually cook with olive oil or canola oil, which will do nicely in this recipe as well. Adding the cashews and thyme makes it very special. Of course, you could substitute almonds for the cashews. Go wild!

[print this recipe]

RICE PILAF
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup freshly sliced mushrooms
Dash of dry thyme
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 cup regular raw white rice
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can broth ((chicken or vegetable)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees(F). In 1/4 cup hot butter in skillet, saute onion and mushrooms until tender. Remove vegetables. Set aside in a 1 quart casserole dish. In the same skillet, heat the remaining butter. Add rice and brown, slightly stirring, over heat. Stir rice into vegetables and thyme. Heat broth to boiling and stir into the rice-vegetable mixture. Cover and bake 30 to 40 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

From Allergan's Kitchen Prescriptons