Category: Cilantro

This salad is full of flavor and textures. The dressing is delicious, and would be fantastic over any roasted vegetables or as a dip or sandwich spread.   Serves 4... Read more »

Black bean soup is a simple but so satisfying dish. You can make it with canned beans but it's particularly good with home-cooked beans as the cooking liquid is a flavorful and rich broth for the dish.   Traditionally you might serve this with slices of avocado, crema or sour cream, cilantro and a little lime juice. In the above version I served it with pico de gallo which is a delicious alternative. You can simply top with a few quick-pickled onions--nothing more than thinly sliced onions in vinegar--but you want something bright to complement the richness of the soup.... Read more »

Escarole is slightly bitter, but the bright lime-y dressing and the richness of the avocado and cheese mellows it out nicely. If you have lettuce or another green you'd like to use, by all means do. This salad can be a meal on it's own, or you can add grilled chicken or steak for an even heartier dish.   Serves 4-5  ... Read more »

This sauce is creamy, herby and addictive! It's delicious with collard wraps, tacos, burritos, nachos, grain bowls, dolloped on eggs, etc. Get creative with how you use it. It also stores well and surprisingly doesn't discolor too quickly.   -inspired by Pinch of Yum  ... Read more »

This simple sauce is lovely with eggplant. You can saute, broil or grill the eggplant. Sauteing is the quickest method. The sauce will make a little more than you need for this recipe but it keeps well and is good on noodles, rice, meats, etc.  ... Read more »

It's hard to beet fresh corn, especially dressed with lime juice to balance the corn's sweetness and tossed with cucumbers, cilantro and maybe a little tomato.... Read more »

This bowl uses bean thread noodles aka mung bean, cellophane, glass or vermicelli noodles made with mung bean starch, as its foundation. The sauce is a light one that you'll also use to marinate the tofu.... Read more »

I had leftover lentils and rice to use up from a photo shoot of one-bowl meals. It's a bit of work to cook both of these just for this meal but it might just be worth it! I always suggest cooking more beans and grains than you ever need for a given recipe so if you get in the habit of cooking a pot or two at the beginning of the week, a dish like this can come together on a weeknight.... Read more »

This is similar to this Salad-Roll Salad but it's quicker and even more versatile. Here bean thread noodles are combined with quickly stir-fried vegetables (and meat if you like), fresh herbs and a bright fish sauce, lime dressing. You can change the ratio of noodles to vegetables/herbs to suit your likes and needs. [caption id="attachment_20643" align="aligncenter" width="660"] And a fully loaded version with lots of toppings.[/caption] Bean thread noodles aka mung bean, cellophane, glass or vermicelli noodles are made with mung bean starch. They are a popular noodle in Chinese cuisine. They're quick to prepare and can be used in salads, stir-frys and soups.  ... Read more »

This is just a template to assemble a delicious bowl of food. The sauce makes everything taste good. You can use either yogurt or tahini in this sauce or a combination of both. I love all versions! Cook a pot of grains and then let people customize their bowls to suit their taste.  ... Read more »

Whether nothing more than beans, cheese and fresh salsa or loaded up with lots of other toppings, nachos are fun, quick and versatile. When we have them for dinner we often manage to eat more of them than we think possible! [caption id="attachment_19080" align="aligncenter" width="660"] This version included ground beef that had been seasoned with lots of chili powder and cooked with finely chopped onion, chard stems and some chard leaves. It was fantastic![/caption] If you don't have chips on hand but have corn tortillas you can cut them into wedges, fry them in oil until crisp and use them here. They'll be thicker/sturdier than typical chips and very good.   Quantities are intended as guidelines and adjust to suit your taste/needs.... Read more »

Similar to mashing finely chopped herbs into butter to make compound butter, feta can absorb a lot of tender herbs. It's a delicious spread or even dip. If your feta is quite crumbly you can add a little cream cheese, sour cream or even plain yogurt to achieve a creamier texture.   Make however much you want/need. I tend to go heavy on the herbs.... Read more »

In Indian cuisines (and other South Asian cuisines) spices are often added to hot oil or ghee (clarified butter) to temper the spices, i.e. release the spices essential oils and flavors. This flavorful oil, called a tadka, makes for a wonderful salad dressing.  ... Read more »

These are flavorful, simple and quite light in fact. You can use fire-roasted canned tomatoes or fresh ones you broil. I rarely have queso fresco on hand so top them with a little sharp cheddar--totally inauthentic and very tasty. [caption id="attachment_18350" align="aligncenter" width="660"] In this version I thinned sour cream with a little plain yogurt for a pourable consistency.[/caption]... Read more »

This beautiful, verdant dish is adapted from Bryant Terry's wonderful book Vegetable Kingdom. It's greener and richer than this more typical Mexican version and is practically a meal in itself.  I've made it a bit spicy and have added toasted cumin and coriander seeds which make it so fragrant. For a richer dish you can increase the amount of coconut milk and decrease the amount of broth, just as long as the total volume of liquid stays more or less the same.   You can really use many kinds of greens. If you have mustard greens, arugula or mizuna only use a small percentage of them as their strong flavor can overpower. Beet greens, chard, collards as well as parsley, cilantro, or even radish tops would be great. You can top it with an egg and/or other toasted seeds or nuts or stir in some chickpeas and a bit more chopped parsley or cilantro--what I did with leftovers, above.... Read more »

[caption id="attachment_18042" align="aligncenter" width="660"] This was the soup on day two or three, warmed up and fancified with an egg, for lunch.[/caption] I buy a bunch of cilantro and parsley every week (unless I have enough parsley in my garden) and when I'm in a hurry I twist off however many leaves I want from the bunch for whatever it is I'm making. Eventually I'm left with a bunch of stems and a few straggling leaves. I used an entire bunch of parsley and cilantro stems (finely chopped) in this soup and I think it's what made it particularly good. So use those stems! I'm sure they'd be good in most any soup, just chop finely.   This makes a lot of soup and it is even better the next day or the next.   You can also serve it over toasted bread rubbed with garlic.... Read more »

You can use herbs in quantity and in many different combinations here. However, make it even if you’re short on herbs. It will still be good. This is a great way to use parsley and cilantro stems.   Variations Use 1-2 teaspoons sage or rosemary instead of tender, leafy herbs. You’ll want to use much less as they are more strongly flavored. Add the zest of 1⁄2 a lemon in addition to the juice for a more lemony version. You can garnish this dip with capers and if you have a spare minute, fry the capers in a little olive oil until crisp and sprinkle over the dip. ... Read more »

  [caption id="attachment_19384" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Chicken and lots of veg in this version.[/caption] My son loves this dish and it's a pretty quick weeknight dinner. It's a great way to use (up) any number of vegetables. It calls for a higher ratio of vegetables than might be typical and you can certainly use fewer. [caption id="attachment_21828" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Straight chicken version with lots of scallions and cilantro.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_17922" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Tofu version[/caption]... Read more »

Spinach is quick-cooking and tender and makes for a wonderful, quick weeknight curry. This coconut milk curry is quite similar to this one, which includes onions and is a bit drier.   Start the rice the minute you walk in the door and sit down to eat 20 minutes later if using white rice or 35-40 if brown. And the leftovers are excellent.... Read more »

Using up random bits of things (and freeing up fridge space) AND making something delicious with said bits is one of my greatest pleasures. These quick rice patties came about one Saturday when we returned, very hungry, from a soccer game. And this template of a recipe is yet another reason to cook more rice than you think you'll need so that you can make these on the fly a day or two later.   You can make these with nothing but leftover rice, a couple of eggs, and a few herbs or spices but there are so many options! And ratios and quantities are totally up to you and what you're needing to use up. This batch included about 2 tablespoons of leftover Green Sauce (the simplified version w/out egg). Just be sure to add more eggs and/or cheese if you increase the amount of rice so that the patties stick together.... Read more »