Braaiing with herbs

Tanya Visser, presenter of The Gardener and copresenter of Home Made Easy TV programmes, is a gardener at heart. So it makes sense that she would cook using her favourite collection of fresh home-grown herbs. One of her favourite pastimes in her busy schedule is to light a fire and cook for her friends and family on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Here are some of her simple recipes that use lots of herbs.

Lemon thyme chicken

2 chicken breasts
½ cup breadcrumbs
50g feta cheese
Juice and zest of ½ lemon
Handful lemon thyme
Salt and pepper
Dash of olive oil
Cocktail sticks

Slice the chicken breasts on the short side, stopping just before cutting through, and fold out to make a flat piece. Combine the breadcrumbs, crumbled feta, juice and lemon zest, lemon thyme leaves and a dash of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Place the filling in each of the chicken breasts and fold up, securing with cocktail sticks. Rub the outside with olive oil and place on a medium heat on the grill. Turn occasionally until cooked through. Serves 2.

Fish in banana leaves

1 banana leaf
200g fresh white fish
3 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 stalk lemon grass
Handful thyme
Juice and zest of ½ lemon
Dash of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Place the fish in the middle of the banana leaf. Place the tomatoes over the top. Bash the lemon grass stalk to release the oils and place on top of the fish with a dash of olive oil, lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap the leaf into a parcel and secure with cocktail sticks. Place on the grill and cook for about 20 minutes until the fish is cooked.