Jul 13, 2022

It’s All About the Herbs!

Look to your right as you walk down the brick entrance ramp to Hanover Tavern. There, just outside the back door to our kitchen, sits the Hanover Tavern herb garden.  For eight years, this plot has offered a variety of fresh herbs (and a few vegetables!) to be used in our scratch-made recipes.

Started in 2014 by former Hanover Tavern chef Mary Catherine Ortolani, the plot was built up with bricks, lined with clay and gravel, then filled with compost. The first planting included basic herbs along with some volunteer cherry tomatoes. The microclimate created by the bricks allow us to keep herbs year- round and harvest cherry tomatoes all the way up to Thanksgiving!

“We’ve grown every herb we could get our hands on over the years.”, says Mary Catherine, “…sometimes from seed packets, some from local nurseries, and some grown from saved seeds that we germinated in what I call ‘the greenhouse’ (the closet upstairs with the hood equipment – it’s toasty and has good light).” She goes on to say, “Before the smokehouse gardens were built, I grew a few veggies out there. One year we grew Romanesco cabbage that took over half the bed with leaves the size of dinner plates. We’ve grown a few varietals of cucumber- lemon cucumbers did the best. We grew jalapeños one year.”

Each year, new additions are added to the herb variety, allowing a selection suited to the latest restaurant menu. The list of herbs the garden has included since its creation is extensive and some have thrived more than others:

Cilantro, Purple Scallions, Curley Parsley, White Scallions, Flat Leaf Parsley, Sage, Dill, Rosemary, Genovese Basil, Lemon Balm, Thai Basil, Lavender, French Thyme, Mojito Mint, Lemon Thyme, Kentucky Colonel Mint, Tuscan Thyme, Cumin, French Tarragon, Fennel, Chives, Oregano, Garlic Chives, Golden Oregano.

A favorite herb that lasted for several years was a 3” pot of sage that grew into a 4 ft. wide plant! Originally part of table decor for a wedding, the bride gifted it to the Tavern after the event.

Our fresh herbs have been used in many recipes at Hanover Tavern through the years including meatloaf, pastas, salads, and even pastries! We will be introducing a new seasonal menu soon that will continue our kitchen’s legacy of using fresh local ingredients, including our own Tavern-grown herbs!

We look forward to welcoming you to our table soon.