Herbal inspiration

September 13, 2020 9:59 AM

Friday, I decided to buy three big bunches of herbs: cilantro, mint and parsley. My idea was to make a tabouleh salad. Now I've washed them and I'm sitting here listening to The Splendid Table and picking off the leaves and it is a really huge mountain of herbs. So fragrant! So I'm thinking that maybe I should make more dishes from them.

I have one idea, another salad made with raw mushrooms, parsley and lemon juice that I first had in Rome 25 years ago. Do any Mefites have others?
I live with my daughter and three other young people, but we rarely eat at the same time. Nice things one can find in the fridge are good. But I think I can get a couple of them to have a family dinner tomorrow, so nice warm food is good too.
I'll chop and freeze any surplus if necessary, but our freezer is full and we are trying to empty it so we can defrost it.

posted by mumimor to Food & Drink (16 answers total)

That's a good herb combo for falafels!
posted by hannahelastic at 10:06 AM on September 13, 2020 [2 favorites]

Cilantro and mint are key ingredients for Thai/Lao laab, a minced-meat salad dressed with fish sauce and lime juice (if you're vegetarian you can sub in soy sauce for the fish sauce, and use crumbles of tofu or even eggs).
posted by andrewesque at 10:15 AM on September 13, 2020 [3 favorites]

I love parsley. One of my favorite uses of POW BANG herb flavor bombs is in salad dressings. oil-free green goddess dressing as prepared by Isa in Appetite for Reduction (but this is a great jumping off point for all sorts of dressings):

2-3 average-size cloves garlic
½ cup fresh chives
½ cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon miso
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt

Puree, store in a jar in the fridge.

(I make triple batch volumes. It stores well.)
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 10:16 AM on September 13, 2020 [3 favorites]

If you have a food processor, I like to make salad dressing with cilantro, yogurt, some oil, and whatever else sounds good.

I’m making lamb meatballs with fresh mint tonight!

Parsley is great in basically everything.
posted by cakelite at 11:49 AM on September 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

This Greek Goddess Dip might change your life. You’ll also need dill and basil. With some pita, crackers or chopped veggies it’s perfect for multiple family members snacking from the fridge.
posted by oxisos at 12:02 PM on September 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

This is kinda basic, but do you like mint tea? Hot (not boiling water) over fresh mint is better than the best dried blend; it's like a totally different drink.

A variation of your mushroom dish: chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, sumac, and one or all of your three herbs combine to make a lovely salad.

A lot of things with peanuts can be improved with some of these herbs. A friend of mine used to make a delicious dish of pasta, caramelized onion and red pepper dressed with sesame oil, balsamic vinegar and chopped peanuts. Cilantro and/or mint in it = perfect.
posted by prewar lemonade at 12:08 PM on September 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

Throwing handfuls on top of anything southeast asian-leaning (stir-fries...or springrolls or a made-up pad-thai-ish deal or a take on green papaya salad) esp with chopped peanuts or chili peppers would be good.

I bet that would be good scattered on top of a spicy squash soup or some such also.

Mint and parsley keep okay in jars on the countertop like flower arrangements. Cilantro has about two days before it gets all Eeyore.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 1:01 PM on September 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm about to make a kuku sabzi with my gigantic bundle of parsley. (Barberries are great but you can sub any sour small berry.)
posted by cobaltnine at 1:04 PM on September 13, 2020 [2 favorites]

This won't use up a lot of your parsley, but it's just good old down home food.


Marinated Tomatoes

4 medium tomatoes, sliced
2 small onions, sliced thinly
2-3 tablespoons chopped parsley
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
Directions:

Place half of the tomatoes in a 9 inch glass pie plate.
Add half of the onions.
Sprinkle on half of the parsley.
Repeat with the remaining vegetables.
In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, adjusting to your personal tastes.
Refrigerate several hours.

My grandmother made this all the time. You could probably sub your favorite oil/vinegar combo, but we've always kept it simple. My dad likes it extra tangy so he increases the oil to 1 cup and the vinegar to 2/3 cup.
posted by kathrynm at 1:36 PM on September 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

Greek meatballs: meat, grated onion, breadcrumbs or flour, mint, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, brushed with oil and baked in the oven.

Greek stewed vegetables: sautee 2 chopped onions with bay leaf, add 3-6 peppers, roughly chopped zucchini (2-5), eggplant (1-2), lots of sweet paprika, a few tomatos crushed or some tomato paste (+ water), lots of fresh mint, salt, and if you want at the end, some red chili flakes.

Greek spinach: sautee onions (+ shallots and green onions if you have them), add lots of spinach and lots of mint, dill, salt and pepper. Use to fill spinach pies, or add black eyed peas and serve with lemon, oil, feta cheese.
posted by melamakarona at 1:36 PM on September 13, 2020 [2 favorites]

Best answer: This is a job for ... PERSIAN FOOD! I'd be making gormeh sabzi or kuku sabzi or one of a jillion other Persian dishes.

In fact I just got back from buying all of these at the Persian market, and there's a kuku sabzi in my immediate future.
posted by cyndigo at 2:33 PM on September 13, 2020 [2 favorites]

Yeah I was going to say kuku sabzi will use up any amount of cilantro, mint and parsley you happen to have available. Yum!
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:47 PM on September 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

oh also those herbs are wonderful in meatballs.

lots of fresh mint in a meatball -- takes it in a Turkish sort of direction
lots of fresh parsley in a meatball -- all purpose liveliness; consider adding parmesan, now you're headed towards Italy
cilantro + fish sauce in the meatball -- you've taken it in a vaguely SE Asian direction
posted by fingersandtoes at 5:17 PM on September 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

Seconding larb! You can use any ground/finely copped meat or chopped mushrooms. All of the herbs you have are wonderful, and the more the better. It's wonderful in lettuce wraps, over rice, or double the sauce and serve it tossed with noodles. I'm also currently in love with these chicken wings. The recipe calls for grilling but a hot oven or broiler works just fine. Half the vinaigrette, skip the peppers if you don't want to bother, and to them with a huge pile of lovely fresh herbs.
posted by mostlymartha at 11:20 PM on September 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

I would definitely make a pesto-like concoction with anything leftover! Here's the first Google result for "How to make pesto out of anything"!
posted by nosila at 7:39 AM on September 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you everyone, now I want to buy more herbs so I can try all the ideas! Stuff happened, but the herbs are still good, so tonight I'm making the gormeh sabzi (as well as I can, I may need to substitute some things). I think that recipe was exactly what my subconscious greedy herb-eater was looking for.
posted by mumimor at 7:42 AM on September 15, 2020 [1 favorite]