HERB GARDEN TOO FRUITFUL? W Summer fun comes with a risk as Texans out & about.

5 recipes to use up the fragrant gifts from your garden

hen the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March, countless Texans responded to the new work-from-home conditions by planting a garden. And those beds and boxes — especially the ones loaded with fresh herbs — are now overflowing with a bounty of green goodness.

This week we’ve put that aromatic surplus to good use in five herb-heavy recipes that are sure to leave you and your family feeling like planting that victory garden was worth the effort.

The feast begins with a toast.

We’ve steeped a refreshing twist on sangria using dry vermouth, sparkling white wine and gin with an abundance of mint, thyme, rosemary and tarragon. It’s a pale and fizzy version of the robust citrus-spiked Spanish sipper that pairs well with the other herb-loaded dishes we’ve developed.

Our white sangria also takes well to creativity. If you have too much basil, sage, lemon balm or other herbs, feel free to bring them to the party.

These recipes are sure to leave you feeling like that victory garden was worth the effort.

Many gardeners planted zucchini and squash alongside all those herbs. We’ve put those vegetables to use in two dishes.

Once the soft seeds are scooped out, large or overgrown zucchinis are the perfect vehicle for an herby ground beef mixture. We’ve baked those in a tomato sauce loaded with basil, thyme and oregano and topped the whole affair with a layer of gooey cheese.

Zucchini and butternut squash — both are easy to find at the grocery store if you didn’t plant any — are cut into spirals to form the base of a vibrant salad tossed in a dressing made with tangy lemon juice, chives, mint, thyme and oregano.

If you’re craving seafood, our version of fish en papillote — that’s seafood baked in a wrapping of parchment paper — will leave your kitchen perfumed with fistfuls of thyme, chives and oregano. And we’ve made it a complete meal, wrapping the fish with a bed of fennel bulbs and couscous.

Pork tenderloin is particularly well suited to encrusting with a layer of herbs. The meat has enough flavor to stand up to a dense coating of any herb growing in the garden. We’ve swabbed ours with a mixture of basil, parsley, mint, rosemary and cilantro.

Those same herbs also become an Italian-style salsa verde — a thin sauce made with olive oil, a splash of vinegar and oodles of herbs — that makes a perfect drizzle over the pork or any other protein.

Make the sauce in a large batch (it’ll live in the fridge for a little over a week) and use it to top anything coming off the grill this summer.

This recipe is a perfect way to use large garden-grown zucchini and a fistful of herbs.

Herb-crusted Pork Tenderloin with Salsa Verde. Recipe Page E8.