imafan26
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How to preserve or use cilantro

I just came back from my garden Christmas drive thru and I passed on the taro because I have araimo I am harvesting for new year so I did not want another corm. If it had a huli, I might have taken it. I also got a small avocado, some fruit and about 2 lbs of cilantro.

Besides salsa, jook, oxtail soup, and Thai chili paste (I don't need any more), how else can I use it or keep it? I does not last very long. I am trying to give some of it away while it is still fresh. The roots are attached. Those I can freeze for Thai chili paste later. I can put it in some salads, like Chinese Chicken Salad, but it won't take that much cilantro.

pepperhead212
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Here's a recipe from Rick Bayless, which is sort of a cilantro pesto. The book I first found it said that it kept indefinitely in the fridge. It calls for half parsley, but I only made it with that the first time - from then on, I used all cilantro. It works great, when I want a quick cilantro flavor in something.
https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/cila ... urripesto/

imafan26
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Thanks. It is the kind of recipe I am looking for that is versatile and can be used on many things. I did search and find some recipes to freeze the cilantro as an herb butter or freeze them in ice cube trays in oil. I think your recipe might be a good one that I can use to freeze part of it for later.

I have some romaine in the garden. I think I might be able to use some of the chicken I have for a Chinese chicken salad. I have all the ingredients to make a dressing and ramen noodles. It would be enough for one meal. I could substitute chard for the lettuce. I have no idea how that will taste, but I could try it. I have cucumber in the garden to bulk out the salad.

I am thinking now that even though I don't have everything to make pesto, I can still freeze the cilantro in oil and finish the pesto at another time. I actually have made pesto, but it wasn't very good. I was "grassy". I did not add the pine nuts, because the are ridiculously expensive and I don't like them. If I can get some baking macadamia nuts, I'll try to use it as a substitute. It is still very expensive, but at least I do like the taste of macadamia nuts.

I did find a recipe for lime cilantro chicken with rice that I am going to be making soon. I did some shopping today to get some of the spices. Garlic powder cakes up in a humid climate so I rarely buy it and even the ones in the store had caked up. I might have to mince fresh garlic instead. I also could not find any cayenne in my spice box, so I got a small package of it. I prefer the fresh chilies to powdered chilies so I rarely use it. I did have the chili powder and cumin. I don't have any Persian limes now, but I do have lemons and calamondin which will be a different flavor but should work anyway. I already had the chicken in the freezer and cooked rice in the frig.

There have been a lot of Mexican recipes posted, but I rarely eat Mexican food and I don't care for the chili powder, beans, cheese, or tortilla flavors. I do make salsa sometimes when I have cilantro and tomatoes. The closest I get to Mexican food is Taco Bell, which does not have anything close to what people described as the "bright flavors" of Mexican cuisine. It is probably because I don't really have all the trimmings, like the fresh salsa, creme fresh or sour creme, or the right herbs to go with it.
Even the spices in this chicken recipe I found which sounds really good is not the flavor profile that I am used to.

I think this recipe was more Mexican inspired than actually Mexican, but it still sounded good.
I am going to add some bell pepper to this recipe because I have a bell pepper, I need to use as well. A one pot dish is right up my alley. I just wish it was more balanced and had more vegetables in it to make it more complete. I usually don't eat multiple dishes in a meal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbrtGeQ ... theKitchen

This is always a problem with herbs like cilantro. It is feast or famine. They have such a short shelf life.

pepperhead212
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I just made a batch of that stuff, mainly because I was harvesting more of my hydroponics parsley than I knew what to do with! That recipe calls for half parsley, but I only used about 1/3 parsley.
ImageA batch of the Rick Bayless cilantro pesto, in a wide mouth mason jar. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

imafan26
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How long can pesto keep and can it be frozen?

pepperhead212
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In his book, Bayless says that this can be stored up to 3 months, but when I looked back, this online one has no reference to this, and also uses only half the oil, though he says that if you are going to store it, to cover it with a thin layer of oil - mine just settles, and a half inch or so layer of oil is on the top, I guess due to the double oil amount. And that " generous 2 tsp" of salt" probably helps with preservation. I may have kept mine for 2 months, or a little longer, and no problems, and the taste is pretty much the same - the garlic, not being raw helps this, probably.

imafan26
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If it can keep in the refrigerator a couple of months, that is still good.

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Gary350
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I was told cilantro can be frozen but I have not tried it yet.

Here is a very good India Chutney recipe this stuff is really GOOD. This is a sauce you add to food like you add, taco sauce to tacos, maple syrup to pancakes, mustard to a hot dog, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOVIohdOT0I

imafan26
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It can be frozen in ice cube trays, but its texture isn't good for a garnish. Chutneys are good.

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RASelkirk
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I've made cilantro pesto, still have some in the fridge from over a year ago and it's good. Don't know what the criteria is for dating this stuff, to me if it looks right and tastes right with no visible signs on mold, I'm gonna eat it.

Russ



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