Herbs de Provence

What can I say about herbs de Provence? I love it. I use it often. I feel like it is a greatly under-appreciated blend. It’s freaking delicious and if you don’t use it, you totally should. So, yeah. That’s what I’ve got for this blog post.

Ok. Just kidding. I can probably come up with some more stuff to say. I really do love herbs de Provence. I think it’s just that little hint of lavender that makes it seem extra to me. Extra special. Extra sophisticated. Extra snooty. Especially when I say, “I’m using Herbs de Provence in this dish”. I make sure to say it with a super exaggerated French accent. I can’t actually do a French accent so it’s pretty bad. I feel cool though, so I got that going for me.

You might be asking what kind of recipes call for this particular blend. Well, you can actually use it quite a bit. My personal favorite is shepherd’s pie. Although, technically what we’ve always eaten as “shepherd’s pie” in my family is usually cottage pie. From what I understand, the main difference is that shepherd’s pie uses ground lamb and cottage pie uses ground beef. I make a vegetarian version of this with minced mushrooms and ground walnuts and just call it shepherd’s pie. So, I don’t know. You can be picky with the name if you choose, but my parents called it shepherd’s pie so I’m sticking to that.

Anyway, back to herbs de Provence. Maybe it’s weird that I use a French herb blend in my Scottish/ Irish/ English dish, but it’s delicious so I don’t question it.

Other ways to use this delightful concoction are in roasted chicken and roasted potatoes and/ or veggies. It’s great on fish. You can flavor rice, cous cous, or quinoa with it. You can add it to oil and vinegar for a fabulous vinaigrette. To me, this blend just adds a sophistication to most dishes. As I was researching for this blog post, I came across a recipe for Tomates à la Provençale which seems to be tomatoes cooked in their own juice on the stove then you finish them in the oven with a topping of breadcrumbs, herbs de Provence, and garlic. Um, yes please! Why am I not eating that right now???

As you can see, there are many uses for herbs de Provence and you can see why it is a staple in my kitchen and should be in yours too. So, let’s make some shall we? You can purchase all of the herbs that you need for this recipe here.