While I’m still patiently waiting for the vegetables in our garden to grow, I’ve been picking very diligently the only greens readily-available – herbs (thyme, oregano, chives and basil that grows on my window sill). Adding fresh herbs to dishes feels so good, be it cooked or raw! For example, I’d use fresh thyme and oregano in a mustard-based meat marinade (especially for chicken and turkey), while basil and chives are best added to the dish just before serving (this is particularly true for the chives). So when my basil doesn’t end up in a pesto genovese, I’d pair it with its greatest friend – tomato.

Chives belong to the onion family and as such, make a fantastic addition to all of those dishes where you’d normally use onion. My favorite way to eat chives is to add them chopped to my summer salad, consisting in tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, onions, feta cheese and sometimes legumes (from beans to lentils) or sweet corn.

Last year I planted the chives for the 1st time. This year they developed flowers, beautiful edible, purple petals with a taste of onion! Once it begins flowering, the chive becomes unsuitable for eating; it feels rather hard to bite. After flowering, the plant needs to be cut back to about 5cm from the ground level in order to encourage the growth of new leaves.

I’ve prepared two chive recipes for you, one using leaves and the other flowers. I hope you will like them!

LEMON HERB BUTTER

You need:
100g (unsalted) butter, at room temperature
fresh chives, washed, dried and chopped
4 green olives, pitted and finely chopped
a few drops of lemon juice
1/2 tsp of grated lemon peel
freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Store in the fridge, always covered. You can also shape it into a “log” and cut slices, when needed, to add them to steaks or cooked vegetables. You can also form the butter into little balls and freeze them. And if you’re in a spring mood, you can serve it the following way: take some chive leaves, washed and dried, and cut them to the size of the plate you’ll use. Arrange the leaves on the plate so that they look like “grass”. Place small amounts of soft lemon herb butter on top of each chive and press down to form a “blossom”. Serve with freshly baked bread or toast.

EGG OMELETTE WITH CHIVE FLOWERS

You need:
eggs
a bit of butter or ghee
chive leaves
chive flowers
basil leaves
salt and pepper

Prepare the herbs: separate the chive flower heads from the stems and snip off their florets. Chop the chive leaves and basil leaves (but only in case they are big). Beat the eggs together with salt and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper. Add the chopped chives, basil and half the amount of florets. Melt some butter or ghee in a frying pan, pour in the egg mixture and cook over medium-to-low heat, covered with a lid. Once half done, sprinkle the omelette with the rest or chive florets and again cover with the lid to let it set completely. Serve warm. I made this for last Sunday’s breakfast.

Related posts:

1. Chive flower vinegar
2. Dandelion revisited
3. Spring lunch
4. My favorite spinach dish
5. Veggie abundance, and a tasty rice frittata recipe