savory – Cook and Drink

Satureja or Savory

14 August 2025

The traditional way of eating Fava Beans in the Netherlands is by combining them with an herb called ‘bonenkruid’. The name isn’t very helpful, it translates into ‘bean herb’, so it’s ‘beans with bean herb’. The tradition is based on the idea that the herb would help your body digest the fava beans and that it would compensate for the bitterness of the inner skin of the beans.

Given its name we didn’t pay too much attention to ‘bean herb’, until we saw it in France, where it’s called ‘sarriette’. In English it’s ‘satureja’ or ‘savory’. It turns out to be a very tasty herb, related to rosemary and thyme. It is one of the main herbs in Herbes de Provence, together with marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano.

Its history goes back to Roman times, when it was one of the main ingredients of Garum (or Liquamen), the fermented fish sauce that was used to flavour food. Amongst the herbs used in garum are cilantro, dill, fennel, celery, mint, thyme, oregano and clary sage. The Romans also used satureja as an aphrodisiac.

In her book Van Soeter Cokene Professor Van Winter describes a recipe from 1430 for Crustade, a pie with veal, various herbs (satureja, sage, parsley, hyssop) and spices such as cinnamon, saffron, cloves and mace. According to Van Winter one of the first recipes to combine (green) herbs with spices.

Our ‘bonenkruid’ has much more potential than we expected!
We decided to combine it with slowly baked waxy potatoes. They will be very crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The satureja makes it into a very light, uplifting side dish, great with Coq au Vin or a hearty stew.

What You Need

Waxy Potatoes
Satureja
Olive Oil
Butter
(optional) Black Pepper

What You Do

Peel the potatoes, wash and cook until not yet done
Let cool
Heat a heavy iron pan
Add butter and olive oil
Chop the satureja
Slice the potatoes, not too thin, add to the pan and fry on medium heat
Turn the slices every one or two minutes. The potatoes should become very crispy, a touch golden but not brown
When ready to serve, add ¾ of the satureja and mix
Add black pepper (if using)
Serve and add the remainder of the satureja

PS

Making your own garum is perhaps not the most obvious thing to do. We made it once, many years ago. It turned out to be a very tasty and subtle condiment, despite the fairly present aroma.

Field Peas with Summer Savory

7 July 2021

Seasonal products, we simply love them! Fresh field peas are available for a few weeks in June and July only. They are easy to recognise by their purple pod. An old and forgotten vegetable, perhaps because the (older) peas tend to be starchy and not very tasteful.
Young field peas, however, are sweet and moist with a good texture. Combining them with summer savory is a great idea, but if you want to give your field peas a more modern twist, then replace the savory with fresh oregano.
Field peas, different from fresh green peas, require some fat or oil. The combination with for instance crispy fried pork belly works really well. Simple, a bit old fashioned and delicious.

Wine Pairing

We combined our field peas with pork fillet. The dish is robust, so we decided to drink a red wine from the Dão region in Portugal, to be more precise we enjoyed a glass of Prunus as produced by Gotawine. One of our favourites! It has lots of dark fruit (plums, blackberries, cherries), it is lightly oaked and its taste is fruity, long and well balanced. Grapes include Jaen (also known as Menci), Tempranillo and Touriga Nacional. In general you’re looking for a medium bodied, not too complex, yet elegant red wine.

What You Need

Fresh Field Peas
Sprigs of Summer Savory
Olive Oil

What You Do

Shell the peas and steam them for 4 minutes maximum. Let cool and set aside. Heat a small skillet, add olive oil, reduce heat and very gently fry the peas. Add some finely chopped summer savory. Mix. Just before serving add the remaining chopped savory, mix and serve.

If you combine the field peas with pork fillet, then use excellent organic fillet only. Fry the fillet in a heavy iron skillet until nearly done. Wrap in foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Add the meat juices to the pan, add some mustard and (vegetable, veal or chicken) stock. Reduce. Add some cold water to help the emulsification. Slice the fillet. It should be a touch pink. Serve with some black pepper and the jus.