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December 1st, 2008
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Celebrity herbs

Rosemary and thyme takes recipes to the top
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August 20th, 2008 issue

Rosemary and thyme go together like Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris.

MICHAEL HEITMANN/The Prague Post
Colorful, healthy and full of flavor, "this barbarian" will please the sophisticated.
The British actresses starred in a television series that ended last year — Rosemary & Thyme — about crime-solving gardeners in rural England.
Perhaps no two herbs have received as much attention from pop culture. Everyone remembers, for example, the refrain from Simon and Garfunkel’s 1966 hit “Scarborough Fair/Canticle,” based in part on a centuries-old ballad: “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.”  
According to legend, rosemary represented remembrance, among other things. Thus Shakespeare has Ophelia point out the plant, telling Hamlet “That’s for remembrance, pray you love, remember.” Thyme was used to depict courage in men. But, for women, it symbolized something between hope and chastity. An Irish folk song has the female love interest warn: “Come all you maidens young and fair / All you that are blooming in your prime / And always beware / To keep your garden fair / Let no man steal away your thyme.”
Such is the importance of these two herbs: Their value extends beyond the kitchen, into the very heart of Western culture. And they add some tasty accents to this duck recipe.
Valerio Bussandri is sous chef at Café Bistro, located in the Hilton Prague, Pobřežní 1, Prague 8–Karlín. Tel 224 842 700.

BARBARIAN DUCK

(One portion)
Ingredients
1 duck breast
3 grams ginger
5 grams thyme
5 grams rosemary
5 grams rock salt
To complete:
Sliced duck breast
70 grams mixed green salad
8 orange wedges
10 grams endive
5 grams roasted pepper, julienned
5 centiliters lemon dressing
2 centiliters balsamico reduction
10 grams fennel seed croutons
Preparation:
Marinate the duck in ginger, thyme, rosemary and rock salt for 24 hours in refrigerator.
Clean the breast and bake in preheated oven for six minutes at 160 C.
Mix the salad with balsamic reduction and lemon dressing.
Pile on center of plate and arrange orange slices around it.
Dress endive and red pepper then arrange on top of salad.
Cut the duck breast into slices and place on top.
Garnish with fennel seeds croutons.


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