Cilantro aioli
The Spruce Eats: What Is Cilantro? Cilantro, an cilantro aioli with a pungent, lemony, slightly peppery flavor, is used fresh and added at the end of cooking. It does not keep fresh for long. Leda Meredith is a food writer and certified botanist who has written five books on foraging and preserving food.
This plant is a member of the parsley family, and the herb is also known as Chinese parsley and Mexican parsley. Fresh cilantro tastes pungent, bright, lemony, and a little peppery. To a certain percentage of the population, it tastes soapy. Not all people detect aldehydes in the taste, which can account for the differences in preference for this herb.
Immediately before using cilantro, wash it well to remove dirt and grit. Pick off the leaves and discard the stems. Chop or tear the leaves to the desired size. Add cilantro to the recipe at the end of cooking or as a top dressing. You don’t want to cook this herb as it will lose most of its flavor. If you are making pesto or sauce, you can grind the stems as well with a food processor.
Practically any savory Indian dish will be finished with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro. It can be included in sauces, salsa, and pesto for use with chicken, fish, tofu, or vegetables. If you don’t have cilantro available, the best substitute is culantro, which is even stronger in cilantro flavor. Otherwise, consider replacing it with an equal amount of fresh parsley, tarragon, dill, or a combination of the three. Look for fresh cilantro sold by the bunch in the produce section of most markets, right next to the parsley. You can find dried cilantro in the spice section. Fresh cilantro should be bright green and the stems should stand up when you hold the bunch in your hand.
Cilantro doesn’t keep fresh for long. Don’t wash it until you are ready to use it or it will degrade swiftly. To keep it fresh for up to a week, place the stems in a glass of water and cover the top loosely with a plastic bag. Keep the cilantro cool by storing it in the refrigerator. Then you can cut off the leaves as needed.
You can freeze cilantro if you blanch it first to deactivate the enzymes that will decompose it. Dip a clean bunch of cilantro into boiling water just until it wilts, then plunge it into a bowl of ice water. You can also freeze cilantro oil or pesto to preserve the cilantro flavor. After you’ve blanched, chilled, and patted your cilantro sprigs dry, coarsely chop them—tender stems and all. Put them in a blender or food processor and puree, adding enough extra-virgin olive oil to make a smooth, somewhat liquid paste. Pour or spoon your oil or pesto into freezer bags.
Put in just enough to cover the surface of the bag when it is horizontal. What you’ll end up with is a pesto “pancake” from which you can break off just what you need. Alternatively, fill ice cube trays with your cilantro oil or pesto. Each cube will be approximately 1 tablespoon of herbal oil or pesto. Instead of freezing, make cilantro compound butter. 4 cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves in a basic herb butter recipe.
