Thyme is a low-growing perennial herb essential for dishes that span the continents. It’s a key component of Jamaican jerk dishes. It’s a traditional part of a French bouquet garni, the bundle of herbs used to prepare soups and stocks. Za’atar, a Middle Eastern condiment mixed in olive oil or sprinkled onto hummus, wouldn’t be za’atar without it.
Since it’s a perennial herb, thyme is available all year around, but comes into its own in winter when its seasoning power is needed for hearty dishes like the quinoa recipe below.
Yvette McLean of Yves Garden in Douglasville is just as taken with thyme’s medicinal uses as its culinary ones. During the main farmers market season, McLean sells her herbs at the Sandy Springs Farmers Market, the Farm Market at Smyrna and the Main Street Farmers Market in Douglasville.
Of the dozens of varieties of thyme available, she grows three – common or English thyme, lemon thyme and lime thyme. She has four 3-by-10-foot beds and plans to add more. She’s particularly fond of the lemon and lime varieties because their citrus flavors go so well with seafood and chicken. She enjoys using them to make jams and jellies as well.
But she particularly likes thyme as a remedy for a sore throat. “I grew up in a family that farmed in the Caribbean. My parents used fresh herbs as medicine,” said McLean.
If someone in the family got a cold, McLean’s mother would mix up a tea of thyme with a few leaves of sage and sweetened with honey. “We’d take that twice a day for a few days and be good to go,” she added. Perhaps it’s the antibiotic properties in thyme’s volatile oils that made it a successful family remedy.
McLean also dries thyme, and uses it along with other fresh dried herbs to create special spice blends. She says dried thyme makes an excellent moth repellent and some of her customers buy her thyme to put in their bath water to relieve sore muscles.
Thyme is also one of the mainstays of “Nature’s Green Seasoning,” a fresh herb blend McLean sells at the markets. “I make a combination of garlic, chives, green onions, oregano, celery, cilantro, parsley, thyme, sweet marjoram, sage and other fresh herbs, all of which I grow in my garden, and blend it with a little olive oil,” said McLean. She likes it on everything and finds her customers enjoy using it to season soups, poultry, fish, rice, eggs and vegetables.
At local farmers markets
Many local farmers markets have closed for the season. However, the Marietta Square, Decatur and Morningside farmers markets continue all year round.
For sale
Vegetables and nuts: arugula, Asian greens, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, cucumbers, dandelion, escarole, fennel, frisee, green garlic, green onions, herbs, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, lettuce, mache, mushrooms, mustard greens, onions, parsnips, peanuts, pecans, peppers, popping corn, radicchio, radishes, rutabaga, spinach, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turmeric, turnips and turnip greens, winter squash
From local reports
Nikolai’s Roof Mushroom Pesto with Golden Quinoa
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Serves: 6
Thyme, garlic and lemon are traditional seasonings for mushrooms. This recipe comes from Stephanie Alderete, chef de cuisine for Nikolai’s Roof in downtown Atlanta. Alderete uses hen of the woods mushrooms for this dish, but you can substitute whatever mushrooms you like. Make the mushroom pesto separately and use it to flavor rice and pasta dishes or as a condiment for poultry or fish. In the photograph, Alderete has paired this dish with a steak.
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup golden quinoa
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound hen of the woods mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups olive oil, divided
3 shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 cup toasted pecans
1 cup shredded Parmesan
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, combine chicken stock, quinoa, butter and salt. Simmer over medium-high heat until quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes. Strain quinoa and keep warm. Discard cooking liquid or save for another use such as making soup or cooking rice or vegetables.
While quinoa is cooking, make mushroom pesto. In a medium bowl, toss mushrooms, 1/4 cup olive oil, shallots, garlic and thyme. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and roast 15 minutes or until mushrooms have turned golden brown and released their liquid.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine pecans and Parmesan. Pulse briefly to coarsely chop. Add roasted mushrooms and pulse briefly again to continue chopping. Add lemon juice, zest and remaining olive oil. Turn processor on and process until mixture is a paste but still has texture. Taste for seasoning. Pesto can be made up to 1 hour ahead.
When ready to serve, combine quinoa and mushroom pesto. May be served warm or at room temperature.
Per serving: 738 calories (percent of calories from fat, 76), 17 grams protien, 30 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 66 grams fat (11 grams saturated), 15 milligrams cholesterol, 609 milligrams sodium.
About the Author
