Herbs infused and removed (bay, sage, thyme sprig)
With care — Allowed by some hospitals and not others, or allowed only prepared a particular way.
In one line: Simmer a whole sprig or leaf, then lift it out. Nothing is chopped, and nothing is left in.
A herb leaf is a piece of plant material. Chopped small and stirred through a dish, it is a scattering of fragments that do not dissolve and do not digest. That is why fresh herbs sit on the avoid lists of the leaflet this book follows and of Leeds.
Left whole, the same herb behaves differently. Nearly all the flavour is in volatile oils held near the surface of the leaf, and warmth and time move those into the fat or the liquid around it. Once that has happened the leaf has nothing left to give and can be taken out.
The preparation
Whole sprigs and whole leaves only. A bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, a few sage leaves in foaming butter. Warmth rather than fierce heat, and long enough for the kitchen to smell of it. Then lift every piece out before the dish reaches the table, counting them out as carefully as you counted them in. See infusing and lifting out.
Dried chopped herbs are no good here, because there is no way to retrieve them.
Where hospitals differ
St George's places dried herbs and spices in the allowed tier. Leeds allows dried herbs at stage three of its obstruction diet while listing fresh herbs as avoid. The leaflet this book follows lists herbs and spices under foods to avoid. Infusing and removing works under all three readings.
If you have been told to leave it out
The sauce is milder and still good. Build the flavour from clear stock, garlic cooked soft, butter and cheese instead. See herbs and spices.
Swaps
- Instead of Fresh chopped herbs, such as parsley, coriander or basil, use Herb-infused oil or butter with the leaves lifted out, or a small amount of dried herb if you tolerate it
- Chopped fresh herbs leave rough flecks throughout a dish, so infusing the flavour into oil or butter and lifting the leaves out gives the same taste with nothing left behind. Some hospitals allow a small amount of dried or ground herb, while the leaflet this book follows bans herbs and spices outright, so check your own trust's leaflet if you are unsure.