193 lines
5.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
193 lines
5.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
foodanddrink
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seasonal-food-and-drink
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7715295
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# How to use mint in your menu
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## Taste of summer: now is the perfect time to enjoy the delights of mint,
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says Bee Wilson.
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![mint plant-how to use mint in your menu][1]
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Photo: ANDREW CROWLEY
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7:00AM BST 19 May 2010
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[Comments][2]
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On a scorching afternoon in Paris there is no lovelier place to be than the
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_salon de the_ at La Grande Mosquee in the 5th arrondissement (Metro station
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Place Monge).
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The charm of it is partly the soothing courtyard, with its fig trees and
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Islamic art - this is the cafe of the largest mosque in the city. But the real
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attraction is the mint tea, which comes heavily sweetened in pretty glasses.
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Mint and summer go together like sage and winter. It is the sprightliest of
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herbs, whether dispensing its perfume to a pan of new potatoes or a dish of
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fresh green peas.
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Mint is surprising, too. There are few other herbs that run the gamut of
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different cuisines quite so easily. Mint can be British (mint sauce) or
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Vietnamese (pho); it can be Indian (mint chutney) or American (mint juleps).
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16 May 2010
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The thing we call mint is really an entire family of plants - of the genus
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Mentha - with several dozen species. As well as the garden mint we know and
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love, there is citrus-scented bergamot mint; chocolate mint with its brownish
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leaves; yellow-tinged ginger mint; Asian mint (_hung gioi_ in Vietnamese);
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Corsican mint with itty-bitty peppermint leaves; and banana mint, which really
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does smell ever so slightly of bananas.
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One year I decided to make my own mint garden and ordered a profusion of
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varieties from Jekka's Herb Farm (jekkasherbfarm.com). They all smelled
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wonderful. Yet in all honesty the only kinds I really wanted to eat were
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Moroccan and garden mint.
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I felt vindicated in this conservatism when I read David Thompson, the great
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expert on Thai cooking, and a stickler for authenticity, who says in _Thai
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Food_ that 'the best variety to use' is 'common garden mint'.
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He notes that, 'Mint is used in almost every Thai salad, but with discretion.
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Its fresh menthol flavour cools and refreshes.' (There will be minty Thai
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things on offer in London as part of a Thai festival in Trafalgar Square on 5
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June.)
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I especially love the Thai salad _nahm dtok_, made from grilled meat, ground
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roasted rice, lime juice, fish sauce and fresh mint and coriander leaves. The
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mint offsets the salt of the meat and the fish sauce.
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Mint can also transport you to the Mediterranean. Italians have been cooking
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with it since Roman times; Apicius gives a recipe for sardines in mint and
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vinegar sauce, which is similar to the _stemperata_ sauce still served with
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fish in Sicily.
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As in our own mint sauce, I find, the vinegar is a bit much. I prefer another
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Sicilian dish: pasta with capers and mint.
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You can make the most ordinary pasta and tomato sauce taste sensationally
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different and summer holiday-ish by adding a large handful of mint, chopped
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together with raw garlic and capers (even if you end up eating it on a British
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patio rather than a piazza in Palermo).
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And then there's tea. If your normal brew is from a bag, prepare to be amazed
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by fresh mint tea. It comes out yellow, not the usual murky brown, and smells
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heavenly.
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My favourite place to drink it in London is Moro in Exmouth Market, where it
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arrives in a glass teapot crammed with fragrant leaves.
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It's easy to make at home, too, ideally with Moroccan mint, but garden is
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fine. Just add boiling water to a pot filled with the herb. To serve it
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Moroccan style, pour from a great height into small glasses.
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[What are these?][10]
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* Share: [Share][9] [ ][11] [ ][12]
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[Tweet][13]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/seasonal-food-and-drink/7715295/How-
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to-use-mint-in-your-menu-Bee-Wilson.html
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Telegraph
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## [Seasonal Food and Drink][14]
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* ### [Lifestyle »][15]
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* ### [Stella Magazine »][16]
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* ### [Food and Drink »][17]
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* ### [Food and Drink News »][18]
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* ### [Recipes »][19]
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[X][9] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][10]
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Share:
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* [ ][9]
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* [ ][11]
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* [ ][12]
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* [Tweet][13]
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* Advertisement
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![][20]
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][21] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][22]
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## [Christmas 2010 »][23]
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[![Christmas 2009][24]][23]
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[Christmas Home And Garden][25]
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[Christmas Travel Guide][26]
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[Christmas Gift Ideas][27]
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