Cilantro? What can you do with this tasty herb?

So, Cilantro! What a contentious little herb. People either love it or hate it! We are in the love it camp. Absolutely love this tasty herb and its fragrant aroma. If you’d like to understand why some people don’t enjoy cilantro, take a look at this article on the Encyclopaedia Britannica website.

I’ve got two recipes here for you to use cilantro. If you make both of these you’ll likely have a little left from your bunch, but properly stored in the fridge, it can last a few days to add to a green salad. Assuming of course, that you are on ‘team cilantro’.

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This tasty herb is the feature flavour in these salads

The first recipe is a pasta salad. I like to use bowties, but you could also use a long linguine type noodle if you want. When I first started making this, I used to make the sauce from scratch. This meant I had to have a whole bunch of ingredients that I only used for this recipe. I discovered that this Thai Sweet Red Child bottled sauce hit the spot. All the flavours are there. For the amount you are using, it’s really not worth the effort to make this from scratch.

A little red onion, finely chopped cilantro and you’re done. I have in the past added finely julienned and lightly cooked carrots for added colour and taste.

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Cilantro generally needs a good washing. Depending on the time of year, it can have a fair bit of sand in the roots. I like to use a salad spinner for this. Give it several good rinses in cold water. I like the Oxo salad spinner. It comes in two sizes, I have both. The largest one I tend to use for lettuces etc., the smaller one is great for herbs. Once dry-ish, I pull the leaves of the toughest stems, you can leave the skinny ones attached. Then chop with a large, heavy and sharp knife. You want the cilantro to be finely chopped. It’s important to use a sharp knife – for safety – but also so that the herbs are chopped and not bludgeoned! Bruising the leaves is not good.

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Mangoes’ bright taste is boosted by cilantro

The second recipe is for mango salad. I prefer to use slim yellow Atulfo mangoes as I prefer the texture and taste, you can use red mangoes as well. Like the pasta salad, this needs some red onion and cilantro. A little squeeze of fresh lime juice is the only other ingredient you will need.

To prepare the mango, I use a y-shaped peeler. I have found that Khun Rikon peeler is very efficient and very safe. When I was teaching my sons how to peel stuff it really was obvious to me that this was the best type. There are videos on the internet showing how to peel a mango by sliding it over the edge of a glass. Please don’t do that… very dangerous. The mango has a large pit in the middle. This does not pop out like an avocado or a peach or anything. Once peeled, stand the mango on its end and carefully cut off the sides, then the edges. Not shown in the pictures, is that the cook or helper gets to nibble on the remaining fruit left on the pit!

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When you’re chopping the red onion, do it finely, no one likes a big chunk of raw onion in any salad. You can definitely substitute green onions (scallions) if you prefer.

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The pasta salad will keep for a couple of days with no harm done. The mango though, is best eaten the same day. Usually not a problem as my kids inhale this dish. If cilantro is not on your list of tasty herbs, then perhaps you’d like to try another flavour profile. This recipe for Japanese Noodle Salad has a vert different taste that you may enjoy.

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