Potent healer

Dab some oregano oil onto your hand and you’ll be aware of a gentle heat spreading across your skin. The oil has an antiseptic quality, and is commonly used to treat skin infections; a remedy that traces its roots to ancient Greek times, when the herb was also used to alleviate digestive problems, convulsions, and respiratory ailments.

Oregano oil is also said to soothe headaches and sore throats, and contains a high amount of vitamin K (which promotes cardiovascular and bone health), giving it the reputation of being nature’s antibiotic. Known by its binomial name as oregano vulgare, the herb is a close cousin of the marjoram, and grows mainly in temperate regions in Asia and the Mediterranean.

In Mediterranean cuisine, the herb is best known for its use in pizzas and pastas: it adds a mild, bittersweet, peppery flavour to those dishes. Desmond Lee, chef de cuisine of Private Affairs—a modern European restaurant—thinks oregano is best paired with other stronger herbs like rosemary and thyme to enhance its aroma. Dried, ground leaves, which are readily available from supermarkets, possess a more intense aroma than fresh oregano leaves, although the latter is always preferred in a bouquet garni, salad or as a stuffing. “The herb is also very versatile with any kind of sauce, from a rich tomato-based offering to the classic beurre blanc,” adds Lee.

The simplest sauce and dressing you can make with dried oregano is an oregano ‘pesto’ sauce—mix the herb with olive oil, and you can use it in a light pasta dish or as a dip. Lee uses the oregano ‘pesto’ sauce in his Seafood Pasta, letting the herbaceous notes of the plant meld with the briny touches of clams.

Excerpt from the May 2013 issue of epicure