Mint recipes

Mint recipes are all about keeping cool. Sweet and fresh, there's no mistaking the pleasant scent of mint, which has wide range of culinary uses in both sweet and savoury recipes. Mint comes in several varieties, with spearmint most commonly used in cooking, but you'll sometimes find peppermint used in sweet recipes, too.

Mint combines exceptionally well with many vegetables, particularly potatoes and peas. See how Shaun Rankin brings them both together in his minted potatoes recipe, aptly served with roast leg of lamb. Or try Galton Blackston's minted new potatoes, boldly served with bacon, samphire and broad beans.



Fresh mint recipes are at home with salads. Try Robert Thompson's simple but beautiful buffalo mozzarella salad with peas, broad beans and mint.

On the sweet side, Galton Blackiston's mint ice cream makes for a beautiful and surprising dessert. Mint also works well with berries, as in Shaun Rankin's blackberry and mint compote for vanilla cheesecake, and Tom Aikens' poached strawberries with mint and champagne.

Mint is lovely picked right off the bush, but it can also be purchased freeze-dried, convenient for dishes that require very little or no cooking such as salad dressings. Dried mint is also useful for making herbal tea.