Subtle Herbal Chervil

Eighteen years ago in France, when I couldn’t find a bunch of fresh parsley in the market, the grocer pushed a paper twist of fresh chervil at me. “It is very similar,” he said. And so it was.

This subtle herb, much used in French cooking, tastes like a combination of anise and parsley and is often in the background of herbal seasonings for country soups and sauces.

French cooks occasionally blanch or saute chervil sprigs as garnish or for a soup base. In fines herbes, a common French seasoning mix, chervil is combined with parsley, chives and tarragon. Most chervil-lovers add fines herbes at the end of cooking time, since lengthy heating can turn chervil’s delicate flavor bitter.

Dried chervil is much less aromatic than fresh because much of the sweet anise flavor is lost during the drying process. A better way to store chervil is to chop the fresh herb and freeze it in self-sealing bags.

Chervil grows well in windowsill pots or in a kitchen garden. Unlike most herbs, chervil likes its soil fairly rich. Two kinds of chervil are readily available: curly and common. A third, bulbous chervil, is very rare. It has tuberous roots that are eaten like artichokes.

LEEK AND MUSHROOM BROTH WITH CHERVIL

1 teaspoon safflower or canola oil

1/4 cup dry Sherry

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 cups thinly sliced leeks

5 cups nonfat chicken broth

2 teaspoons chopped fresh chervil

Salt, pepper

Heat oil and Sherry in large soup pot over medium-high heat until simmering. Add mushrooms and leeks and cook slowly, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are very soft, about 15 minutes. Add broth and simmer 15 minutes. Add chervil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

6 servings. Each serving:

80 calories; 199 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.70 gram fiber.

RICOTTA-VEGETABLE OMELET

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 cup dry white wine or nonfat chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped leeks

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 cups packed chopped spinach leaves

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup shredded low-fat cheese, such as Cheddar or Swiss

1/2 teaspoon minced tarragon

1/2 teaspoon minced thyme

1 teaspoon minced chervil

This oven-baked cheese-vegetable omelet is best made in a heavy-bottomed stove-top casserole.

Heat oil and wine in 10-inch oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. When simmering, add leeks, bell pepper, mushrooms and spinach and cook, stirring frequently, 15 minutes.

Beat together ricotta cheese, egg, low-fat cheese, tarragon, thyme and chervil in separate bowl. Pour over sauteed vegetables. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees 15 minutes or until egg is set. If browning is desired, broil 2 minutes, watching carefully.

4 servings. Each serving:

174 calories; 203 mg sodium; 74 mg cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 14 grams protein; 0.76 gram fiber.

CREAMY CHERVIL DRESSING

1 cup nonfat or low-fat cottage cheese, well drained

2 teaspoons minced white onion

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons minced parsley

1 tablespoon minced chervil

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Salt, pepper

Process cottage cheese, onion, garlic and vinegar in blender until smooth. Stir in parsley, chervil, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Before serving, stir lightly to combine ingredients again.

About 1 cup. Each 1-tablespoon serving:

11 calories; 64 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.03 gram fiber.