Herbs play a large part in the Italian diet, with Basil Genovese for example, being crushed in a mortar and pestle with pine nuts, peccorino and Parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt and then mixed with good olive oil to make pesto a Genoese would dream about. But the Romans wouldn't eat basil. They thought it would make you mad and fed it to their horses, but they did use it to treat ear infections.
Herbs were so important to the Roman Legionaires, that varieties such as dill and chives were issued to every garrisson. Wild chives can still be found growing along Britain's Hadrians wall to this day.
On this page you'll find the 'classics', the really indispensable stuff.
ORIGIN Valerian is a hardy perennial flowering plant from the Valerianaceae family.It grows to about 50 cm tall and and has intensive green leaves.The flowers umbrella out and are pale pink in colour. An unusual feature of valerian i
