Serves 4
 
Give your chicken a major flavor boost by stuffing pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano into the meat before searing. While the chicken is cooking, prepare this quick, flavorful tomato sauce with fresh, sweet cherry tomatoes and slowly sauteed garlic. Finish it off with a handful of fresh basil and a swirl of creamy butter and you will be in heaven!
 
 
4 boneless chicken breasts (about ⅓ pound each)
2 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 pints cherry tomatoes, sliced in half from top to bottom. 
10 thinly sliced garlic cloves
½ cup thinly sliced basil leaves
1 pinch crushed red pepper
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
Kosher salt 
Pepper, freshly ground

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover a baking pan with foil. 
2. Cut the Parmesan into 32 ¼ -inch pieces and set aside. Pat each chicken breast dry with a paper towel. Make 8 small, shallow slits into the top side of each chicken breast. Gently insert a piece of Parmesan into each slit. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper. 
3. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. When the pan is hot, place the chicken breasts in the pan, top side down. Sear the chicken until the breast lifts easily from the pan and is browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts from the pan and place them on the baking pan with the seared side facing up. Finish cooking in the oven for 15 minutes or until the flesh is firm, yet has a little “give” when pressed. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it sit covered for 5 minutes before slicing.
4. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the tomato sauce using the same pan you seared the chicken in. Place the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and garlic in the pan and turn the heat to medium low. Cook the garlic slowly until lightly browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes, crushed red pepper, and basil. Raise the heat to medium high and cook until the tomatoes break down and become saucy, about 10 minutes. To finish the sauce, turn off the heat and slowly stir in the cold butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with sliced chicken. 

Variations
 
Basil Tomato Corn Sauce     
The addition of fresh corn kernels to the cherry tomato sauce above creates a colorful and delicious complement to seafood, chicken, or pasta. Prepare the sauce as above. When the tomatoes begin to break down, add ½ cup of water and the kernels cut from two fresh ears of corn. Bring to a simmer and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and finish the sauce with cold butter as above.   
 
Southwest Mussels with Tomato Corn Sauce     
Prepare the Basil Tomato Corn Sauce without the basil. Add 1 teaspoon ground cumin with the tomatoes and 2 pounds of cleaned mussels with the corn kernels. Finish the sauce with butter and a handful of fresh, chopped cilantro. Serve with pasta or polenta.

Serves 6-8
1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded and cut into ½” cubes
4 tablespoons olive oil
10 large thinly sliced garlic cloves
4 cups chopped baby arugula 
1 tablespoon chopped sage or rosemary
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt
Pepper, freshly ground
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta
 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl combine the butternut squash and olive oil with 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper.  Divide the squash between 2-3 sheet pans.  Cook for 10-12 minutes or until it is just fork tender. Remove from the oven and set aside uncovered. As an alternative to roasting, steam the squash for 8-10 minutes in a large covered sauté pan with ¾ cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt.   
2. Place 3 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic slivers in a large sauté pan.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until softened and lightly browned, about 5-8 minutes.  
3. Add the chopped arugula, sage, and parsley to the garlic and toss for 3 minutes or until the arugula is wilted and the sage is fragrant. Add the cooked squash into the pan and toss gently to combine and heat through.  Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Place the squash onto a platter and sprinkle the shredded parmesan cheese on top.  

Optional: Top with Greek yogurt (1 ½ cups Greek yogurt, 1 garlic clove-crushed, 1 tsp lemon zest, salt to taste. 
 

This recipe is featured in my cookbook "Beautifully Delicious-Cooking with Herbs, and Edible Flowers". 
Make dessert or breakfast special with these beautiful crepes. Delicate and light, they provide the perfect landing place for fresh fruit, sweetened yogurt, and honey. I use pansy, calendula, violet, rose, bachelor button, and dianthus petals.  

Makes 8 crepes 
 
⅔ cup milk
⅔ cup water
3 eggs
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons additional melted butter (for the pan)
1 cup edible flower petals 

Fresh fruit or fruit jam

1. Place milk, water, eggs, and melted butter in a blender and mix until smooth. Add the flour and salt to the blender and mix, scraping down the sides of the jar as needed. The batter will be thin.
2. Heat an 8-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, brush very lightly with melted butter. Pour ¼ cup of batter into the pan while tilting it to cover the surface with the batter. If using a 10-inch pan, prepare crepes with 1/3 cup of batter.
3. Sprinkle the batter with flower petals and place whole flowers face up. Cook for 30-45 seconds. Turn crepe over and cook another 30 seconds. Remove the crepe and place on a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining batter. Cooled crepes can be stacked if needed.
4. Fill crepes with jam, sweetened ricotta, chocolate sauce, or fruit. You can drizzle with maple syrup, honey, or other sauce.

 
Variation
 
Herb Crepes with Lemon Yogurt Cream      
Replace the edible flowers with freshly chopped herbs and cook crepes as above. Dill with savory ricotta, cheese, or other savory filling. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Herb options: parsley, chive, basil, dill, tarragon, and cilantro. Add smoked salmon or smoked trout to your crepe for a special brunch dish.

Mint is the unsung hero of the herb family. It is such a wonderful addition to a meal any time of year. It always reminds me of spring. I use this vinaigrette as a dressing for side dishes and as a sauce for lamb, seafood, and chicken.

​Makes about 1 1/4 cups

¾ cup avocado oil or olive oil
¼ cup rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup mint leaves, chopped
½ cup flat leafed parsley, chopped
Kosher salt and ground pepper

1. In a blender, combine the oil, vinegar, and sugar with the chopped herbs and pulse until the ingredients are pureed. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

How to use this vinaigrette:

• ​Serve as a sauce for lamb, chicken, and seafood
  
• Drizzle over roasted vegetables
  
• Add to any rice dish
  
• Combine with mayonnaise to create a creamy dressing
  
• Toss with sweet peas, asparagus, or any other spring vegetable. 

Serves 6

​Gremolata is a traditional Italian herb paste that is a simple combination of five ingredients: parsley, garlic, lemon, Parmesan, and extra virgin olive oil. With its bright, citrusy flavor, gremolata transforms ho-hum recipes into amazing dishes! Here I’ve combined gremolata with thinly sliced potatoes and roasted them to create a tasty side dish. It’s simple, delicious, and gorgeous!  
Low-carb trick-prepare and cook the stacked potatoes one day ahead and refrigerate. The refrigeration changes the structure of the starches in the potatoes to make them "resistant starches". Resistant starches have a reduced absorption rate in our bodies and helps to keep our insulin low. Learn more about this amazing phenomenon RESISTANT STARCH
 
½ cup loosely packed chopped flat-leaf parsley
Zest of 1 lemon
2 small minced garlic cloves
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 pinch pepper, freshly ground
8-10 Yukon Gold potatoes
 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12 standard muffin cups generously with nonstick cooking spray.

To make the gremolata, combine the parsley, lemon zest, garlic, Parmesan, oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl and set aside. 

Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly (about ⅛ of an inch) using a sharp knife or mandolin. Add the potato slices to the gremolata and toss to coat. I use my hands to be sure to coat the potatoes evenly. Stack the potatoes to fill each muffin cup over the rim by about ½ inch. Press the stacked potatoes down firmly. Bake until the tops and edges of the potatoes are browned and the centers are tender when pierced with a fork, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Cut around each stack with a sharp knife and remove them with a spoon. Serve hot. These can be made one to two days in advance and reheated, covered, in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.  

Salmon Spirals with Herb Yogurt Sauce
Beautifully Delicious Cooking with Herbs and Edible Flowers by Liz Barbour

Serves 6

Herb Yogurt Sauce
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped chives or scallions
2 teaspoons chopped mint
1 teaspoon lemon zest
 
Salmon
1 whole side salmon (3-3 ½  pounds), skin removed
Olive oil
6 teaspoons Dijon mustard
⅓ cup chopped dill
6 four-inch wooden skewers
Kosher salt 
Pepper, freshly ground
 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil and brush lightly with olive oil.
 

1. To prepare the yogurt sauce, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, chives, mint, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.  
2. To prepare the salmon spirals, slice the side of salmon along its length into six ⅓-inch strips. Roll the strips into spirals (skin side down) and secure with a skewer. Push the skewer from onside of the spiral through the center and out the other side-catch the end of the strip on the skewer. 
   
3. Spread 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard on each spiral, sprinkle with dill. Place the spirals on the baking pan and season with salt and pepper.
   
4. Cook until the salmon is firm to the touch when pressed, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and tent with foil to keep warm. To serve, remove the skewers and top with the herb yogurt. 

Note: This recipe can be prepared using salmon fillets instead of spirals.
Variation: Place a scallop in the middle of each spiral. Roll the salmon strip around the scallop.