Garnish Styles

Herbs

A simple garnish of herbs can transform the look of many dishes. Roughly chopped parsley sprinkled liberally over a pasta dish just before serving makes the dish look more vibrant and inviting. Two or three sprigs of rosemary placed on top of a roast leg of lamb, just before you put it in the center of the table, adds color. Make a tomato salad, then tear up a few basil leaves and disperse them over the salad. Drizzle a little olive oil over the basil and tomatoes and you get the fragrance from the basil leaves and the contrast in colors with the deep red of the tomatoes and the vibrant green of the basil.

You can use all types of fruit as a garnish for savory and sweet dishes. A few slices of lime on top of a cheesecake with a twist of lime in the center can make all the difference to a fairly bland looking desert. When you serve fish, squeeze a little lemon juice over the fish then place a slice of lemon on the top. Sprinkle a few chopped parsley leaves over it to enhance it even more. Instead of slicing up a melon or similar fruit, use a melon scoop or teaspoon and make melon balls. Put the melon balls in a glass bowl. Chop up some glace cherries and put them over the top of the melon balls.

You can decorate the side of a dinner plate using vegetables. Cut a cucumber in half then thinly slice it in lengths. Roll up the cucumber and put a cocktail stick through the center to hold it together. Slice a carrot in lengths, then put a couple of slices in the cucumber roll, add a stick of celery and place a shrimp on top. Cook some green beans and finely sliced carrots. Put about six beans together then wrap a slice of carrot around the center to hold the beans in place. It makes a simple side vegetable look more attractive.

A swirl of cream in the center of a bowl of soup, especially soup that has plenty of color, like tomato soup, gives a professional finish. Whisk cream until it's just turning thick but still slides off a spoon. Slice strawberries onto halves. Put the cream into a serving bowl and then place the strawberries in the center of the cream. Cut slivers of dark chocolate and place them over the strawberries. Finish off the garnish by putting a few small mint leaves over the strawberries and chocolate slivers.