Jekka’s Spring Herb Flat Breads with herb mayonnaise, herb carrot salad, pistachio and feta herb dip and a herby hummus are a delicious, healthy and cost-effective snack or lunch.

As featured on ITVs Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, simply combine some or all of the recipes below into a flat bread, wrap or pita.

The five herbs featured in these flat breads are:

• Celery Leaf (Apium graveolens) – a new herb for Alan, with celery flavoured leaves.
• Parsley (Petroselinum) – is mildly bitter and enhances the taste of other foods.
• Spearmint (Mentha spicata) – the new shoots of Mint have a strong refreshing mint taste.
• Dill (Anethum graveolens) – one of Jekka’s top herbs for 2023, it has a grassy, herbal, anise-like flavour.
• Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) – the leaves have a fresh earthy pungency.

Apart from the Mint, all of the above can be grown from seed. Check out Jekka's seed range as well as our Grow at Home Herb Kits.

Also mentioned on the show were:

• Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
• Porlock Thyme (Thymus 'Porlock')
• Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba minor)

Dill (Anethum graveolens)

Jekka’s Spring Herb Flat Breads

Below is the recipe to make the Jekka’s Spring Flat Breads.

Ingredients:

• A teaspoon Jekka’s pistachio and feta herb dip
• A tablespoon of herb carrot salad
• A tablespoon of giant couscous, normal couscous or bulgar wheat
• A couple of lettuce leaves
• A teaspoon of herby hummus
• A teaspoon of herb mayonnaise
• Some herb leaves to garnish, such as Celery Leaf or Parsley

Steps:

1. Make the herb carrot salad first, or ahead of time, if using so it has a chance for the flavours to mingle and the carrot to soften.
2. Cook the giant couscous, normal couscous or bulgar wheat as per the packet instructions. Drain and cool under running cold water. Set aside.
3. Prepare the herb mayonnaise, pistachio and feta herb dip and herby hummus.
4. Assemble the flat bread by smearing on a teaspoon of the pistachio and feta herb dip followed by your carrot salad, giant couscous, herb mayonnaise and the herby hummus (or any combination) and garnish with a couple of herb leaves.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Works equally well in a wrap.

 Jekka's Spring Herb Wraps

Individual recipes

Jekka’s’ herb carrot salad

This makes a frequent appearance in summer lunches as a fresh crunchy alternative to your green salad. Make it ahead of time so it has a chance to soften and flavours to mingle.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 carrots, peeled and grated
• Zest of half a lemon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Steps:

1. Whisk the lemon juice and olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste, mix into the grated carrots. Cover and leave for a couple of hours to infuse.

Jekka’s simple herb mayonnaise

Jekka makes this with good quality, shop bought mayonnaise.  It is delicious to make your own mayonnaise, but it takes time and, using shop bought, takes minutes. Not only good in flat breads, it is also scrummy with chips.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons of your favourite combination of chopped herbs. For example, Celery Leaf and Spearmint, Coriander Dill and/or Parsley.
• Zest of half a lemon
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

Steps:

1. Mix all the ingredients into the mayonnaise, check for flavouring, add more mayonnaise if too strong, or more lemon juice if you want it sharper.

Jekka’s pistachio and feta herb dip

This is a delicious fresh dip that is a frequent star of our Master Class lunches and has been inspired by Sabina Ghayour’s book Persiana.

Ingredients:

• 100 g shelled pistachio nuts
• 75 ml olive oil
• 300 g feta cheese
• 2 handfuls of herbs depending on availability. For example, Celery Leaf and Spearmint, Coriander Dill and or Parsley.
• 3 tbsp of Greek yogurt (enough for the desired consistency)
• Finely grated rind of one lemon and juice of ½ lemon
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and germ removed
• Sea salt to taste

Steps:

1. Whiz the pistachio nuts and oil in a food processor for 30 seconds.
2. Add the feta, herbs (both leaf and stems) and crushed garlic, lemon rind and juice and blitz the ingredients for about 1 minute.
3. Add the Greek yogurt until the mixture has a nice rustic texture.
4. Taste the dip and season with just a touch of sea salt or lemon juice, if desired. Remember that the feta is quite salty already.
5. Serve either with pasta, as a dip or with bread, such as Jekka's Rosemary Spelt Bread.

Jekka’s herby hummus

It is worth making hummus from scratch as it tastes so much better and is easy to do. We think Jekka’s herby hummus is the most green and fresh of all the homemade hummus, but then we are slightly bias!

Ingredients:

• 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
• 1 small clove of garlic
• 1 generous handful of roughly chopped, mixed herbs. For example, Celery Leaf and Spearmint, Coriander Dill and or Parsley.
• 1 tablespoon tahini (optional)
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• A tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

Steps:

1. Drain and tip the chickpeas into a food processor
2. Peel and add the garlic, the tahini, lemon zest and the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of olive oil and the mixed herbs
3. Put on the lid and blitz
4. Scrap down the sides of the bowl and blitz again
5. Taste, add more lemon juice or a splash of water and/or some salt.
6. Put into a serving bowl.
7. Great in flat breads, or as a dip with carrots, cucumbers, peppers.

If you love the sounds of this recipe and herb-based cooking check out our Master Classes and other Herb-based recipes.

Jekka’s Spring Herb Flat Breads from ITVs Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh