Help! I have too much cilantro!

[coliwoggle]

I've just recieved a gift of one CASE of cilantro. Now I'm in the "love cilantro" group and hope you are also because I don't know what to do with it all. Yes I'll be eating fresh cut salsa and guacamole but how long can I keep that up without needing a bigger belt?

Can you make soup with it?

Chutney?

Dessert?

Salad?

Help!

[sfbing]

You can treat it like broccoli and stirfry it with thin strips of beef.
My family also lightly cooks it in stock (with some ginger and white pepper, maybe a dash of fish sauce) and have a very herby soup.

[MrsCheese]

I make a cilantro salad with chopped shallots and olive oil to top yogurt grilled chicken with Moroccan spices. It's yummy, though I guess it doesn't use up that much cilantro...

[alwayscooking]

Cilantro is great in marinades and brines (and it requires a handful). It can also be made into an infusion by heating it in olive oil for a few minutes, processing it, and then straining the liquid through a cheese cloth. The oil is great for dressings or finishing off meat or fish (I also use it when I build some sauces). It will also keep well in the refrigerator.

[Chanin]

Cilantro pesto would use quite a bit of your stock and will have a decent shelf life also.

[DGresh]

I make a "chinese" chicken salad recipe from one of those junior league cookbooks. I don't think it's chinese at all; think it comes from california. The chicken is marinated in soy sauce and garlic and then grilled, topping an iceberg and cilantro salad. The salad dressing includes toasted sesame oil. I sometimes fry bean thread noodles so they are puffy and crunchy and add that. I did a little search and found this same recipe referred to (where else) but here on chowhound a couple years ago, but no one posted it. I will if you're really interested, but it's a long recipe.

[alkapal]

throw a bunch of chopped cilantro in some viet or thai style noodle soups or stir-fries, or with grilled meats in lettuce wraps -- or in vietnamese fresh summer rolls. add some to thai larb -- so refreshing. it's good on fish tacos, too!

there is also an *excellent* succulent indian chicken kabob, called chicken reshmi kabob. it uses cilantro in the marinade: http://indianfood.about.com/od/chicke...

you'll thank me, and name your first-born "alkapal." <ok, maybe that's a bit much ;-)>.
there is also a chutney recipe that goes with it, using the cilantro.

[waytob]

We do things with an abundance of cilantro.

Rinse and then freeze, you then just crush out bits of the frozen cilantro when you need some flavour in curries (it doesn't lose any taste)

We also make a fresh green chutney, which we again freeze and use for everything from yogurt dips to making green rice and biryani -

Cilantro, green bell pepper, fresh green chillis (to desired heat level), sugar, salt, roasted cumin, lemon juice, roasted peanuts (for texture only). Blitz all in an FP until desired consistency is reached. Make it by eye and hand measurements but basically you adjust ingredients till you get a taste you like.

[Boccone Dolce]

What a great gift!! I hope you try the chimichurri, it lives in the oil seemingly forever.
What about tabbouleh made with cilantro instead of parsley? Sounds fun.
I used to HATE cilantro, now I look for excuses to involve it in meals...

[pitu]

I had a cilantro peanut chutney recently that was fab -- I think the maker of said chutney got it out of the Alford/Duguid Indian cookbook, but I'm pretty sure it's the green stuff that is in the trio of sauces presented at the table at many Indian restaurants.

And a fairly small bowl of it took TWO CUPS of cilantro. So when you're sick of the Mexican version, look in an Indian cookbook.

I also use a heavy hand of cilantro in Mexican chicken soup - chicken soup with a chipotle pepper in adobo blended in, with tortilla strips or orzo, some veg like zucchini, and a big handful of chopped cilantro.

Freezing little cubes of it sounds like a great idea. A CASE of cilantro...wow...

[another_adam]

There was an old post about "green rice" with a sauce I rather like-- it uses quite a bit of cilantro, and I imagine you would whip up a bunch of it and freeze it in batches for adding to rice as you need it:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/328780

[Val]

Yay, that's the one Robert Lauriston posted...SO delicious!! One of our very favorites with anything teriyaki or even Mexican chicken, burritos, etc.

[kayEx]

If you like mussels try I this recipe http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?sec... and the cilantro is really good in it I usually double or triple it and use way more cilantro. As a soup topping as well, I love it on top of sweet potato soup with adzuki beans. Also how about some mango or pineapple salsa instead of the regular versions

[LJS]

Julie Sahni, author of the Moghul Microwave (and probably most other Indian cookbook writers) has a great recipe for saag ghosh, a lamb, spinach and coriander dish with a tomato-yoghurt-garam masala base. It is delicious and freezes very well.

[alkapal]

hmmm, i've never even heard of the "moghul microwave"!

[JungMann]

The coriander in Saag Ghosht is the ground seed, not the leaves referred to as cilantro in the US. If one were to go the Indian route, however, mint-cilantro chutney would be the most versatile route. Showered atop samosas with yogurt, as a dipping sauce for grilled shrimp, even spread across a grilled cheese to make the Bombay Grilled Sandwich, it packs a flavorful punch. Pureed with tomatoes, yogurt and chilies, it makes a flavorful cooking liquid for chicken breasts marinated in ginger and garlic. Pureed with sour orange juice, garlic and oregano it forms the foundation of my marinade for Caribbean pernil.

[aahnnt]

one of my favorite things in the world is a chip and veggie dip made from throwing a ton of cilantro in a food processor (maybe 2-3 bunches) and adding about a cup of yogurt, a cup or more of cashews and a jalapeno pepper, along with salt to taste. its so darn good

[primebeefisgood]

Make a pesto with bunches of cilantro, toasted pine nuts and garlic. Great on pasta, will last for two weeks in refrigerator.

[winechic]

I've seen cilantro pesto paired with grilled veggies or Salmon.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/featur...

[guate]

You can freeze it in cubes I hear.
http://www.chow.com/stories/11665

Or there is that green sauce that you frequently get at the beginning of a Indian meal or with samosas and such. Looking it up quickly I see the names hari, dhaniya, and dhania chutney. I am sure there are others and many more recipes. That stuff is great and certainly would use up a lot of cilantro.

[Scargod]

I've certainly made basil pesto, frozen it and ate it for two years. I would try it with cilantro!

[Pata_Negra]

i think there's a Mexican prawn dish that uses loads of coriander. maybe pseudo Mexican?
make coriander pesto. use other nuts instead of pine kernels.

i eat it fresh with almost everything... by the lorry load.

[goodhealthgourmet]

chimichurri is a great way to use up a lot of cilantro, as is cilantro soup.

you could also make a big batch of my black bean dip!
http://www.chow.com/recipes/24426

[coliwoggle]

Wow you can use cilantro for chimichuri? I've always used flat leaf parsley but will try a cilantro batch on my next rib eye.

[goodhealthgourmet]

sure! parsley, cilantro, mint...chimichurri is really versatile - you can also change up the vinegar.

[coliwoggle]

vinegar? you're blowing my mind! I use fresh lemon juice...but like you said "chimichurri is really versatile".

[goodhealthgourmet]

heck yeah! actually, your chimichurri is beginning to sound more like what i would call a gremolata. traditional Argentinian recipes call for vinegar, not lemon juice. but hey, my cilantro isn't traditional either...it's all good.

try the cilantro with red wine or sherry vinegar and maybe even a little fresh lime juice. you'll thank me ;)

[alkapal]

doesn't gremolata have lemon *zest* -- as it is dry-ish compared with chimichurri?

man, i went crazy a while back at the texas de brazil churrascaria http://www.texasdebrazil.com/ near here in fair oaks mall, eating chimichurri on their juicy garlic sirloin! (check out their salad bar on the website). heaven, i tell ya! added some sour pickle every now and then to the forkfull. oh, baby! <can you tell i'm needing to get up and eat breakfast?!?>

[goodhealthgourmet]

"doesn't gremolata have lemon *zest* -- as it is dry-ish compared with chimichurri? "
~~~~~
it does. i was talking more about the flavors than the consistency.

[Boccone Dolce]

I do mine with cilantro AND parsley. Just made it a few days ago- I put it all over anything that doesn't move... My PR friends gave me their method but I lost it- it also involves a few green olives. Love it, love it, love it.

[kchurchill5]

I second that. Be creative it is excellent

Honey, lime, orange and cilantro with a little canola oil makes a great salad dressing

I make an awesome pork tenderloin with cilantro

Cilantro aioli is wonderful with some spicy peppers on a baguette with sauteed shrimp.

I also as someone mentioned make a green rice. I use a little lime, chili, onion, cilantro and it is wonderful with a spicy grilled chicken. So easy but yet wonderful.

A spicy pepper and cilantro pesto is great with a spicy grilled skirt steak, roasted tomatoes and some creamy goat cheese

My chili and chicken sausage inspired soup garnished with cilantro dumplings