You don’t need a garden to grow your favourite herbs. These three indoor plants can give anyone green thumbs and are packed with flavour to spice up any dish.
Parsley
Whether you like curly leaves or flat leaves, parsley is a great addition to any herb garden. Indoor care is easy. Find a sunny spot close to a window, keep the soil lightly moist and make sure to empty the pot’s saucer after watering to prevent the roots from sitting in water. Parsley, with its slightly peppery flavour, is delicious chopped as a garnish, in soups and in pesto, and you can even make creamy parsley butter.
Recipes to make with parsley:
Tomato soup with anchovy-butter toast
Walnut parsley and sundried tomato babka
Butternut and goat’s milk cheese pasta
Chives
Your thriving indoor chives will easily leave you feeling chuffed. This grass-like herb with a delicious onion-like flavour is one of the easiest plants to grow. Find a spot that gets about six hours of sunlight a day and water when the topsoil feels dry to the touch. “Harvest leaves by cutting stems near the base, allowing the plant to produce new growth,” says Sally McCabe, associate director of community education for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Chives give a beautiful boost of flavour to scrambled eggs, quiches and pasta dishes.
Recipes to make with chives:
Chicken, corn and chive mini quiches
Pasta puttanesca
Savoury cheesy muffins with Peppadew, tomato and feta
Mint
Unlike chives and parsley, mint doesn’t like direct sunlight. This refreshing herb with a menthol-like flavour should be planted in its own container due to its invasive nature. Keep the soil moist (not wet) at all times for it to grow at its best. Regularly pinch off leaves or stems to encourage new growth. Mint comes in common varieties like peppermint, spearmint and even chocolate mint, perfect for veggie pastas, dressings, desserts and refreshing drinks.
Recipes to make with mint:
Watermelon mojitos
Pink lemonade and mint sorbet
