What to do with extra cilantro?

By Cherie

{photo credit: www.thedailygreen.com}

I love cilantro. I always ask for extra when ordering, especially tex-mex and it's usually on the weekly grocery list. But as much as I love it I can never seem to use it all before it starts going bad.

What's a girl to do? Well last week I put on my thinking cap and decided that surely someone had tried to make a cilatro pesto before.

So I googled.

Then I chopped, bended, mixed, ect. until I thought I had created this.

I'm not sure where I went wrong but it was disgusting. It looked terrible, smelled terrible and tasted terrible! 

But it's supposed to be FABULOUS.

So I shall try again but in the meantime how do you use all your cilantro? I would really love some ideas! 

Comments

[Jen L.]

I adore cilantro, but my husband thinks it tastes like dirt, so I can't use it in my cooking. Instead, I top things with it. My favorite is Asian soups. Hot and sour soup is amazing with a few fresh cilantro leaves on top, as are almost any Thai or Vietnamese dishes! It's also really, really good with blood orange sorbet.

[Holly]

When I read Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life one of the recipes that stood out to me was Roasted Cauliflower with this cilantro based salsa verde. It's such a delish combo of pesto like sauce with southwestern flavors. Drizzled over cauliflower (or any roasted veggies) for that matter is amazing. I googled the recipe and found this:

http://eatmakeread.com/2009/04/07/caramelized-cauliflower-with-salsa-verde/

So AWESOME!

[Marie Green]

My cilantro pesto recipe is honestly one of my favorite things ON EARTH. I LOVE it. It's a bit simplier than the one your tried:

1 cup (or so) cilantro leaves
1-2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
squirt of lemon juice (start small, add more to taste)
a glug of olive oil (I'd say 1-2 Tbsp)
salt to taste

Whir together in little food processor until well chopped.

I like to use this to top black bean and rice burritos. One of my simplest, most favorite meals.

(Blogged here: http://lifeintinytown.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/solution/)

[Cheryl]

I love cilantro, and we had a plant, but for some reason it just never came back after we used it all. I found these little frozen cubes of cilantro in the grocery store. They may have been just pureed with a little water for all I know. They work when you want/need that cilantro-y taste without all the leafiness.

[Blythe]

If you like fresh salsa, sprinkle it in the pre-made stuff for some added zip.

[natalie]

I was thinking about planting cilantro in my garden.....

[april]

I love cilantro, and put it in pretty much anything (especially paired with sliced avocado, very summery). Guacamole is my favorite thing to make with it - 5 avocados, 3 roma tomatoes, 1-2 limes, 1/2 onion, 1-2 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup cilantro, dash of cayenne and salt.

Also, I made this cilantro cream sauce as a pairing with steak kabobs and I totally could have licked the bowl:
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves, minced
2 tbs red-wine vinegar or cider vinegar
2tbs sour cream
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt

Also, there's this chimichurri that I've made to top tilapia:
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley
4 sprigs oregano (pulled from stem)
4 cloves garlic
2 limes (zested and juiced)
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1 jalapeno (seeded and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
--- blend in a food processor until a paste, tops 4 tilapia filets (but you'll want to put it on absolutely everything)

All recipes were either found somewhere on the internet or in a cooking demonstration class and loosely followed. Yum!