1 Salmon fillet (4 to 6 ounces), preferably wild, per person

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

1 Drop e.O. Lemon per fillet

1 Spring onion per person, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise

Put hydrosol blend and water in a pot large enough to hold your steamer rack; you may need more or less hydrosol depending on the size of your pot. Wash and dry fish and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper and the drop of lemon oil. Place the spring onion with its cut side up in the rack and the salmon with its skin side down on top of the onion. Arrange all the fish in the steamer, being sure to leave enough room for steam to circulate around the fish. You may need two pots if you are cooking for more than three or four people. Cover pot with aluminium foil and a lid and place over high heat. Begin timing as soon as you hear the water come to boiling, allowing 10 minutes per 1 inch of thickness of the fish (therefore a half-inch-thick fillet requires just 5 minutes).

Remove pan from heat when time is up and carefully remove the lid and foil; be careful, as the steam escaping is very hot and can burn. Check for doneness and serve with butter, a wedge of fresh lemon, and finely chopped chervil or flat-leaf parsley.

Vegetarian Main Dishes

MEDITERRANEAN ROAST

2 small zucchini

sea salt

4 large peppers (2 yellow, 2 red), cut in half lengthwise, deseeded but stems left on

1 medium red onion, cut into eighths so the sections are still attached at the stem end

14 sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil

16 large black olives (kalamata are best), pitted and coarsely chopped

16 large pimento-stuffed green olives, coarsely chopped

8 medium garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped

6 large Roma tomatoes, finely chopped or 28ounce can cooking tomatoes, drained and chopped

1 tablespoon each A.H. thyme, bay laurel, and oregano

freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil flavored with 2 drops E.O basil

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds so they become little “boats.” Salt lightly and leave upside down to drain for 30 minutes, then rinse and pat dry. Place zucchini boats, pepper halves, and onion into a large roasting pan. Place 1 sun-dried tomato in each pepper half; coarsely chop the remaining sun-dried tomatoes and sprinkle some into zucchini boats and the rest on top of onion. Sprinkle chopped olives and garlic evenly over all the vegetables.

Combine Roma tomatoes and hydrosols and spoon into pan around, not on, the vegetables (if using canned tomatoes add ½ teaspoon brown sugar). Sprinkle everything with a little salt and pepper and drizzle with the basil-flavored olive oil. Bake for 1 hour uncovered at 325°F; do not stir, as the vegetables must remain upright. Serve at room temperature with French bread, watercress salad, and a dry red wine. Tastes like Provence.

LENTIL AND SPINACH TIMBALES

300 gm yellow or red lentils

1 liter water

2 tablespoons A.H. marjoram or oregano

1 tablespoon A.H. savory

1 tablespoon A.H. sage

sea salt

2 eggs

handful fresh parsley, very finely chopped

1 small onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

160 gm spinach

150 ml (approximately ½ cup) white sauce made with equal parts milk and bay leaf or thyme hydrosol

1 garlic clove, minced

90 gm cream cheese

handful fresh bread crumbs

freshly ground pepper

Wash and drain lentils. Boil with 1 liter water, hydrosols, and a pinch of salt; cook, covered, for 30 minutes or until just soft. Drain off any remaining water and puree; allow to cool completely. Beat in one of the eggs and the fresh parsley. Sauté onion in olive oil until lightly browned; add spinach, remove from heat, and stir while latent heat wilts the spinach. Cool. Combine white sauce, nutmeg, salt and pepper, cream cheese, the remaining egg, and bread crumbs with spinach; puree until smooth. Place a layer of lentils in a lightly oiled loaf pan or individual ramekins; follow with a layer of spinach, and repeat layers, ending with lentils. Place pan in a larger baking dish and add hot water to halfway up the sides; bake at 350°F for 1 hour for a large pan or 20 to 30 minutes for individual dishes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Allow to sit for 15 minutes after removing from the oven, then carefully turn the cakes out of the pans. May be served hot or at room temperature with seasoned tomato sauce or a spicy salsa and salad.

Sauces and Dips

THAI GREEN CURRY PASTE

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

3 to 4 green chilis (jalapeño or ristra), or just 1 habañero, according to taste

2 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons brown sugar

3 inches fresh ginger root, peeled, or 3 drops E.O. ginger

1 medium onion, peeled and quartered

3 garlic cloves, peeled

7 drops E.O. lemongrass

3 drops E.O. lime

1 cup fresh cilantro

1 cup fresh basil

¼ cup fresh peppermint or apple mint

½ cup fresh arugula

½ tablespoon A.H. coriander

1 tablespoon A.H. cardamom

½ tablespoon A.H. lemon verbena

Dry-fry the coriander and cumin seeds in a hot skillet until fragrant. Grind chilis, salt, and brown sugar into a paste in a food processor; add seeds, ginger, onion, garlic, and essential oils and grind until smooth. Add the greens all at once and process until a smooth paste is achieved, adding the hydrosols while the machine is running. This can be kept in a jar in the fridge for several weeks.

To use, add 5 tablespoons of paste to 1½ cups coconut milk and cook your curry in this sauce. Hydrosols may, of course, be added to the curry sauce during cooking.

CREAMY TOMATO SPREAD

500 gm pressed, dry cottage cheese

2 or 3 ripe fresh tomatoes, peeled

3 green onions

1 teaspoon each A.H. basil, thyme linalol, and carrot seed

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until blended well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve chilled. Do not substitute regular creamy cottage cheese for the pressed, dry variety, or it will be more like soup than a spread.

Grains and Pasta

All grains and pastas benefit from additional flavorings. They are, after all, usually considered a vehicle for whatever they accompany, providing the starch/carbohydrate element of the meal and (historically) filling you up in case there isn’t enough of everything else to go around. Add hydrosol to the cooking water or sprinkle the cooked food with hydrosols after draining and use a fork to distribute them thoroughly.

I am providing one pasta recipe, but there are already thousands out there, so play with hydrosols in your own favorite recipes; you will be blown away by the extra zip they add.

ROBERTO’S PASTA

In my former career one of my favorite colleagues was based in Milan, and he introduced me to both arugula and this recipe. I’m sure it has a proper name, I just don’t know what it is. It is best made in early summer, when both the sage and the peas are fresh, but using the hydrosol will allow you to have the flavor of fresh even in winter.

½ box spaghettini (use a good-quality Italian brand to avoid genetically modified wheat)

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 cup fresh or frozen peas, blanched for 30 seconds

15 large fresh sage leaves, cut lengthwise into fine slivers

2 tablespoons A.H. sage

Cook spaghettini until just al dente in plenty of water with a generous pinch of sea salt. In a frying pan, heat olive oil and sauté garlic until it is browned. Throw in the peas, sage leaves, and hydrosol; cover and cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add spaghettini; toss and serve at once with freshly grated pecorino romano cheese and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

SAGE RICE

1½ cups water

1 cup white basmati rice

sea salt

1 teaspoon A.H. sage

Bring water to boiling; add rice, a pinch of salt, and hydrosol; cover and reduce heat to very low. Cook for approximately 20 minutes. (From Miriam Erlichman.)

MOROCCAN SWEET COUSCOUS

This recipe can be served as a dessert but usually accompanies a tagine, or Moroccan stew, of chicken, prunes, and the ubiquitous olives. The dishes work extremely well together.

500 gm couscous

1 liter boiling water

sea salt

1 tablespoon A.H. cardamom

½ tablespoon A.H. cinnamon leaf

125 gm Thompson golden raisins

100 ml cream

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons A.H. rose

Put couscous in a bowl and pour the boiling water over it; stir once, add salt and hydrosols, stir again, and cover with a tight-fitting lid or foil until cool. Drain off any remaining water and fluff couscous with a fork. (Alternatively, you can mix the hydrosols into the dry couscous, then steam it in a cheesecloth-lined steamer over the water for approximately 15 minutes.) Meanwhile, soak raisins in the cream, stir in the sugar and rosewater, and set aside. Add the butter to hot couscous and slowly pour on the cream mixture; a large fork or rice paddle works best to stir this. Serve in a broad low dish garnished with edible flowers and toasted pine nuts.

Desserts

BAKLAVA

It sounds more complicated than it is, and the taste of homemade baklava, containing real rose- and neroli waters, is beyond compare. Use an approximately 10 x 12-inch baking dish.

1¼ cups unsalted butter

1 package frozen phyllo pastry, defrosted

2 cups finely chopped walnuts or pistachios

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

Syrup:

1 cup sugar

¾ cup water

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

¼ cup honey (wildflower or orange blossom)

3 tablespoons A.H. rose

3 tablespoons A.H. neroli

Melt butter over low heat. Lightly grease a 10 x 12 rectangular baking dish with some of the melted butter. Unroll phyllo pastry and have a damp tea towel handy to cover the sheets you’re not working on. Working quickly, use a pastry brush to coat a sheet of phyllo with the melted butter; lay it in the baking dish, making sure it hangs over the end and goes up the sides. You may find, depending on the exact measurements of the dough, that you will have to stagger the sheets around the edges to ensure that the phyllo always goes over one end and one side each time; it just makes for a neater finished product. Repeat until you have six layers of buttered phyllo in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle one-third of the walnuts, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of bread crumbs over the phyllo. Layer in another four sheets of buttered phyllo and top with one-third of the walnuts, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon bread crumbs. Add four more sheets buttered phyllo and the remainder of the walnuts, cinnamon, and bread crumbs; then add another six sheets of buttered phyllo. Fold the overhanging edges of dough onto the top, brushing any dry bits with butter. Add four more sheets of buttered phyllo on top, tucking them down the outside of the pastry to make a neat bundle. Score the top few layers with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern; this prevents the phyllo from breaking up when you cut it after baking.

Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 300°F and cook 30 minutes more, or until top is golden. Remove from oven.

To make the syrup: Put sugar, water, and lemon juice in a small pot and bring to a boil. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in the honey and hydrosols. Pour warm syrup over warm baklava and allow to cool completely. Yum, yum!

MELISSA CHEESECAKE

This could just as easily be made with lavender, rose, neroli, lemon verbena, cardamom . . . let your imagination run wild.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

350 gm cream cheese

350 gm cottage cheese

¾ cup sugar

150 ml sour cream

3 tablespoon A.H. melissa

4 eggs

1 small bunch fresh melissa leaves, stems removed and discarded, finely chopped

grated zest of 1 lime (optional)

Melt butter. Put cracker crumbs in a springform pan and make a well in the center. Pour in the melted butter and mix well, then press the buttered crumbs into bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pan; refrigerate for 20 minutes. Combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, sugar, sour cream, and hydrosol in a large bowl. Beat on low speed with a hand mixer; overbeating will cause the cake to crack. Add the eggs two at a time and mix until just blended. Stir in melissa leaves and lime zest, if using, pour into prepared pan, and bake for 1¼ hours at 275°F. Turn off oven and allow cake to sit in oven for 15 minutes before removing. It may seem slightly jiggly in the very center, but it will set; allow to cool completely. Remove springform ring, glaze top of cake with Melissa Honey Curd (recipe follows), or serve with fresh fruit salad sprinkled with melissa hydrosol.

MELISSA HONEY CURD

500 ml honey (linden blossom is nice)

4 eggs plus 2 yolks

2 lemons

3 tablespoons A.H. melissa

5 drops E.O. melissa

In the top of a double boiler lightly beat the whole eggs and the two yolks. Grate the zest from the lemons and squeeze out the juice. Turn on heat and add honey, lemon juice and zest, and the hydrosol. Keep the water underneath at a low simmer, stirring frequently until the mixture thickens and will coat a spoon. Remove from heat, stir in the melissa oil, and pour immediately into hot sterilized Mason jars and seal. Will keep for about one month sealed, seven to ten days in the fridge after opening.

COOKED FRUIT

Fresh fruit salad is lovely sprinkled with some hydrosol, but fruit poached or baked with hydrosols is equally exciting. Use any standard recipe and just add 1 to 2 tablespoons of your chosen hydrosol to the liquid in the recipe.

Baked apples work well with A.H. cinnamon.

Poach pears or apples with melissa, verbena, or wild ginger.

Bake bananas with geranium or clary sage, or be adventurous and use something savory.

SORBET OR GRANITA

This is the first thing people think of making with hydrosols. You can cheat on the recipe, but this will make a real sorbet that tastes quite as good as any of the gourmet brands on the market . . . better, even. It works best with an ice-cream machine, but you can do it by hand too.