Uses for leftover cilantro?

[Soupandstew]

Recently several threads had recipes calling for relatively small amounts of fresh cilantro as seasoning. We are big cilantro fans around here but it tends to come in a huge bunch and I hate saying goodby to 1/2 a bunch or more after a week or so. I've tried a number of different methods for storage but 10-12 days seems to be the outside limit. I don't have this problem with parsley because my freezer loves tubs of pesto but what can I do with cilantro?

[heavy hedonist]

make cilantro chutney?

Cilantro Mint Chutney
Gourmet | April 2007 /Adapted from Kiran Desai



2 cups packed fresh cilantro sprigs
1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh small green chiles, such as serrano or Thai, including seeds, or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Purée all ingredients in a blender, leaving some texture.



You could just make a half recipe of it.

[cookieee]

I dry it out in the microwave. Not too many recipes call for dried cilantro, but it is better than nothing when you don't have fresh.

[Canice]

How about pepita and cilantro pesto?
I'm not much of a beef eater, but am a sucker for flank steak with chimichurri.

[VictoriaL]

I also make pesto made from cilantro, pepitas, garlic, and olive oil. And, like the basil pesto, it can be frozen in ice cube trays.

Also, if I have extra, I just put the chopped fresh cilantro in a small plastic freezer bag to use when I have no fresh on hand. Not quite the same, but better than nothing.

[Celeste]

I find if I chop it all off the stems and store in a ziploc or plastic container it keeps pretty well for at least a week.

[hAndyman]

I chop and freeze in tubs or bags - good for use in cooking and dips but not in a fresh salad. I chop & freeze enough in the summer to last me til spring usually, but have had to buy it a few times this spring and freeze the leftovers rather than trying to extend the life in the fridge as it loses so much flavour.

[Soupandstew]

Thanks, everyone, for the great tips. I'm going to try the chutney and pesto and freezing it straight. And I like the idea of de-stemming it before refrigeration because it's always the stems that get brown and nasty, not the leaves. I wish I could grow it but repeated attempts have failed. I don't think it likes our summer humidity.

[Marsha]

I don't know where you are, but here in the Houston area, it's a 'winter' crop.

[Soupandstew]

Hi Marsha, I'm Houston too. Which tends to make a lot of "summer" herbs like cilantro, dill, and flat-leaf parsley not so good for us. My only year-round herbs are rosemary, oregano, chives and thyme (and the thyme died last summer when the temp went over 100). I do a lot of basil in the summer to go with the tomatoes; my two plants have over 50 tomatoes coming on. Have you tried sage, not the pretty shrub with lavender flowers but the culinary herb? I've tried twice and failed. I love fresh sage with pork and poultry but really hate paying $2/3 a bunch at the store. I'm still searching for those plants that can withstand 18 degrees in the winter (when we have winter) and 105 in the summer. I have a t-shirt that says, "Houston. It's Worth It!" that I bought at a hurricane relief fundraiser after Ike. My veggie and herb growing efforts are relatively recent-before Ike took all my trees I didn't have enough sun for anything other than impatiens and Mondo grass.

[Canice]

Sorry to butt in, but interesting conversation about growing herbs! It rarely gets hot where I live, and in the neighborhood where I had my only herb garden, it was notoriously cold and foggy all summer. No cilantro, parsley, basil or tarragon ever made it more than a few days but we had sage, rosemary, chives and thyme year-round. The very sweet gardener who rebuilt the beds noticed I liked to cook so put in some plants for me: cilantro, tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapeños. I had to applaud his sweetness, if not his optimism.

[sarahyoung75]

Recently several threads had recipes calling for relatively small amounts of fresh cilantro as seasoning. We are big cilantro fans around here but it tends to come in a huge bunch and I hate saying goodby to 1/2 a bunch or more after a week or so. I've tried a number of different methods for storage but 10-12 days seems to be the outside limit. I don't have this problem with parsley because my freezer loves tubs of pesto but what can I do with cilantro?

You could just freeze it until you need it again. Thanks for sharing this.

[Marsha]

Hey Soupandstew! It CAN be challenging to be a gardener in the Houston area, but it's worth it. Sage isn't happy with our humidity. I recommend Dr. Bob Randall's book, Year Round Vegetables, Fruits & Flowers for Metro Houston. He was the Exec Director of Urban Harvest for many years, and this book is excellent. It's pricey so you might want to check it out from the library to see if you want to buy it. PM me if you want more info on gardening.

[margeslp]

Hi Marsha, I'm Houston too. Which tends to make a lot of "summer" herbs like cilantro, dill, and flat-leaf parsley not so good for us. My only year-round herbs are rosemary, oregano, chives and thyme (and the thyme died last summer when the temp went over 100). I do a lot of basil in the summer to go with the tomatoes; my two plants have over 50 tomatoes coming on. Have you tried sage, not the pretty shrub with lavender flowers but the culinary herb? I've tried twice and failed. I love fresh sage with pork and poultry but really hate paying $2/3 a bunch at the store. I'm still searching for those plants that can withstand 18 degrees in the winter (when we have winter) and 105 in the summer. I have a t-shirt that says, "Houston. It's Worth It!" that I bought at a hurricane relief fundraiser after Ike. My veggie and herb growing efforts are relatively recent-before Ike took all my trees I didn't have enough sun for anything other than impatiens and Mondo grass.

Here I am with our "duh moment" from our first year planting a garden in Central New York. We tried peanuts and sweet potatoes. At least our hearts were in the right place. A neighbor laughed at me as I was planting corn per my engineer/husband's directions, measuring with a ruler how far apart I placed the seeds.

[avariell]

Cilantro is one of my favorite salad "greens". I love it mixed with romaine, tomatoes, tomatillos, avocado and a lime vinaigrette.

[hAndyman]

Soupandstew, I had a really good laugh about my cilantro this morning as I was making tortilla rollups for a fundraiser my wife is hosting. I bought some cilantro on the weekend and pulled it out of the fridge to use and saw that it came here (Ontario) all the way from Texas - J & D Produce in Edinburg, TX, some 2167 miles away to the southwest from us (that's 3488 km to us). Imagine!
I can't wait til it pops up in my garden in a couple of weeks.

Josie, it'll be 3 to 4 months before I get to eat a fresh tomatillo in a similar salad - sniff!

margeslp, thanks for the laugh you gave me re the corn seed - I think I gave my country neighbors a few good laughs too as they watched me, a city boy/med. research tech/teacher, learn to farm (dairy). ( ...and you're not alone wrt the peanuts - my wife planted peanuts in our country garden one year just for the fun of it; mind you they did grow and we did get a few peanuts from her work, but not worth the trouble).