Cilantro. Some of us love it, some of us hate it. Very few are impartial. Julia Child is famously quoted as having told Larry King in a TV interview in 2002 that “cilantro and arugula I don’t like at all.”
I happen to be one of those who love it. I don’t think I loved it at first bite, but now the flavor says “summer” to me and I can’t imagine cooking Mexican or Asian food without it.
It’s an interesting herb since the leaves and stems we eat are called cilantro, but they are actually the leaves and stems of the coriander plant. The seeds of coriander are a standard spice widely used in Middle Eastern, Indian and southeast Asian cuisines among others. The flavors of the seeds and the plant itself are very different, and you can’t substitute one for another.
The other day I called Celia Barss of Woodland Gardens to talk about cilantro. Woodland Gardens, a certified organic market garden in Winterville, sells its produce to restaurants and at the Morningside Farmers’ Market each Saturday morning and through a community supported agriculture program in the Athens area.
“It’s funny you should call me right now,” she said. “I’m making a dish to take to a friend’s house and I’m chopping cilantro right now. I use it a lot.” Barss was making salsa using the seconds of her heirloom tomatoes along with a little bit of chopped red onion, some fresh chopped garlic, lime juice, salt and lots and lots of cilantro.
“When we take it to market, we see that it’s definitely one of those herbs people either love or hate," she said. "They’re definitely one way or the other. They love it to death or they don’t want to even get near it."
Her customers are so fond of cilantro she plants a 45-foot row about every two weeks or so in order to have plenty to sell. The cilantro is ready to harvest about five weeks after the seed is planted, depending, of course, on the weather. When it gets really hot, the seeds don’t germinate well, so Barss may have a little lull in her cilantro harvest over the hottest days of summer. Barss has a few customers she calls cilantro fanatics and they particularly like the variety she grows, "Santo," which shows pretty good heat tolerance, making it well suited for growing in Georgia.
Home gardeners can harvest their cilantro a few leaves at a time, but farmers like Barss are more likely to pull up the entire plant at once. Barss cuts off the roots for her market bunches, but if you find a bunch with its roots still attached, you don’t want to discard them. They’re widely used in southeast Asian cooking. Make a paste by pureeing the roots with some garlic and salt, and use it to marinate chicken or pork before grilling. Delicious.
If you’re growing cilantro at home, Barss says the best advice is to grow it from seed. She finds cilantro doesn’t like to be transplanted, and her customers tell her that when they buy cilantro in pots, the plants are likely to bolt, or throw up their flower stalks, much more quickly than if they had started with seed.
When you bring your cilantro into the kitchen, whether homegrown or market-purchased, give it a quick rinse and then store it loosely covered in the refrigerator. If you have room, many people swear by giving the stems a fresh cut and then putting the bunch into a glass of water and standing it up on a refrigerator shelf. The real key is to be sure you don’t soak the leaves and then wrap them air tight. They’ll turn to slime in no time.
At local farmers markets
4–8 p.m. Thursday, June 30. Peach Jam. East Atlanta Village Farmers Market. www.farmeav.com.
Cooking demos:
6 p.m. Thursday, June 30. Chef Seth Freedman, Ruby Root Connections. East Atlanta Village Farmer's Market, Atlanta. www.farmeav.com
9:30 a.m. Saturday, July 2. Chef David Roberts, Community Q Barbecue working with cilantro and pork. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
10 a.m. Saturday, July 2. Chef Philip Hiserodt and Kids Healthy Eating Day. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
For sale
Vegetables and fruit: arugula, Asian greens, beans, beets, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chard, collards, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, garlic, herbs, green onions, kale, leeks, lettuce, okra, onions, peaches, pea shoots, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips
From local reports
Spicy Shrimp Cocktail with Cilantro
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes plus chilling time
Serves: 6
At a recent dinner with friends, I was reminded of the simple sophistication of a good shrimp cocktail. This recipe is almost 20 years old, but its bright summery taste is perfect for today’s warm-weather entertaining. Scale the recipe up as needed for your next dinner party. You should prepare the components at least three hours before you plan to serve, then everything can be assembled at the last minute.
1 1/2 cups clam-tomato juice
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
20 large cilantro sprigs plus 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro and extra for garnish
1 serrano chili or jalapeno chili, cut in half, seeded
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 small tomato, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
In a medium saucepan, make sauce by combining clam-tomato juice, vinegar, cilantro sprigs, chili and Worcestershire sauce. Boil until sauce is slightly thickened and reduced to 2/3 cup, about 20 minutes. Strain into medium bowl. Allow to come to room temperature. Can be prepared up to two days in advance.
While sauce is cooking, in large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and saute until just cooked through, about four minutes. Cool and refrigerate.
Add tomato, green onion, chopped cilantro, lime juice and sugar to cooled sauce. Season to taste. Chill until cold, at least three hours. Can be made a day ahead.
When ready to serve, divide sauce and shrimp between six plates and garnish with chopped cilantro.
Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine, September 1995.
Per serving: 133 calories (percent of calories from fat, 16), 17 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 2 grams fat (trace saturated fat), 115 milligrams cholesterol, 378 milligrams sodium.
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