Fresh herbs add delicious and unmistakable fragrance to home cooking, tempting the taste buds, and adding colour to the finished dish. Scientific research has proved that herbs are good for us. They are healthy and add nutritional value to food. Added to this, fresh herbs are now available for us to benefit from them all year round.

Herbs make an everyday meal more interesting, adding refreshing hints of a single flavour, and aromatic and subtle depth when added in combinations in generous handfuls. This volume shows you how to make the most of these versatile plants, with 85 delicious and enticing recipes to try. There are new ways with old classics, such as mint with lamb, as well as unusual combinations that add a contemporary twist, such as melon and basil soup, or roast garlic with goat's cheese, walnut and herb pate. Herbs need not be confined to the savoury course. Here are delicious ideas for incorporating herbs into flavourful breads, bakes, desserts and even ice creams, as well as the more usual soups, salads, fish, meat and vegetable dishes. Try sweetly scented lavender scones, or home-made rosemary ice cream for a refreshing summer menu choice.

Whatever your choice, here are recipes guaranteed to pep up an everyday meal, and add interest to your cooking - all inspired by the abundance of fresh flavours in the herb garden.