The A-Z of herbs

Chervil
A beautiful, aniseed-scented herb with delicate, lacy leaves. It should only be used fresh, not dried, and will keep only a few days in the fridge. Excellent sprinkled over eggs, white fish and chicken. It is one of the classic four used in the French fines herbes, along with parsley, chives and tarragon.

Chives
An onion-tasting herb with long, thin, hollow stems. One of the most versatile of fresh herbs, chives are best used at the last minute as they don't stand up well to long, slow cooking and wilt quickly if boiled or grilled.

They're easy to snip with scissors and go well with eggs, soups, salads, all types of potato dishes, fish, cream cheeses, dips, flavoured oils and dressings. The plants produce lovely, blue pom-pom flowers that are also edible.

Store fresh chives wrapped in damp kitchen paper in a plastic bag or container and use within several days.

Coriander
One of the most popular herbs used in our cooking today, coriander has found a home in a variety of ethnic dishes: Thai, Indian, Chinese, Latin American (where is it called cilantro), Indonesian, Vietnamese, Arabian, African and Portuguese.

Coriander has soft, delicate leaves somewhat resembling flat-leaf parsley but with a vibrant and distinctive taste. Use it to garnish salads, soups, fresh sauce and dips, and scatter it over grilled meat and fish. It can even complement fruit, as in a Mango and Pineapple Salsa. Stir it in at the last minute to tomato-based sauces and Indian or Thai dishes. It's also excellent in a Chilli and Guacamole. Just use generously, as subtle treatment gives little reward.

Dandelion
Usually thought of as an annoying weed in the garden, young dandelion leaves are very good in salads.

Dill
A fine, wispy-leafed herb, dill has many uses in many cultures. Used to impart flavour to ‘dill pickles’ or pickled gherkins from America, it also is closely associated with fish. The Scandinavians use a lot of dill, notably in gravad lax, the dish of preserved raw salmon.

Dill is best added to dishes at the last minute as prolonged cooking diminishes its flavour. It dries successfully and this form still holds plenty of its fresh flavour. Use in potato salads, cucumber and tomato salsas, and sprinkle over vegetables, grilled fish and chicken.

Fennel
A tall plant whose feathery leaves resemble dill in larger form. It has a liquorice-like taste and is very good with fish. It's rarely available to buy in supermarkets so the best way is to grow your own. Not to be confused with the vegetable version, Florence fennel, which produces a fat bulb and very little leaf. As with dill, fennel is delicious in fish sauces, dips, potato and other root vegetable dishes, and mayonnaise, and works well sprinkled over grilled summer vegetables.

Fines Herbes
Classic French mixture of chervil, chives, parsley and tarragon, chopped finely and added to dishes at the last minute. This combination has a particular affinity with cooked egg dishes, white meat and fish.