Green Mojo

Simona from Briciole is busy hosting both editions of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I thought I'd turn my attention to Coriander (Cilantro).







I'll be using this coriander to make a Green Mojo - mojo means sauce and these sauces have their origins in the Canary Islands. There are also red and orange versions but I've settled on this vibrant green variety - delicately spiced with ground cumin and a touch of smoked paprika.







Green Mojo



2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

sea salt flakes

1 bunch coriander, leaves picked

½-1 teaspoon ground cumin, to taste

smoked paprika, to taste

sherry vinegar vinegar

olive oil



I've made this is a mortar and pestle - it takes less than a minute, you could also do this in a small food processor.



Place the garlic cloves and a pinch of sea salt flakes into your mortar - use the pestle to grind this into a smoothish paste. Sea salt flakes have a great cutting action and will turn the garlic into paste with very little effort.



Next add in the picked coriander leaves, using a pounding action to break the leaves up, then sprinkle in ½ teaspoon of ground cumin and a pinch of paprika. Use the pestle in a stirring action to form a rough amalgamated paste.



Pour in a little sherry vinegar and a tablespoon of olive oil and continue stirring. Taste and adjust the seasoning.



Finish off with enough oil to form a thick sauce - the consistency you're after is like a dipping sauce.



This sauce works well with fish and shellfish but also is a great match to potatoes - be they simply boiled or roasted in skin.

All Rights Reserved ©Haalo. For personal non-commercial use only - this feed may not be republished.

Green Mojo

Simona from Briciole is busy hosting both editions of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I thought I'd turn my attention to Coriander (Cilantro).







I'll be using this coriander to make a Green Mojo - mojo means sauce and these sauces have their origins in the Canary Islands. There are also red and orange versions but I've settled on this vibrant green variety - delicately spiced with ground cumin and a touch of smoked paprika.







Green Mojo



2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

sea salt flakes

1 bunch coriander, leaves picked

½-1 teaspoon ground cumin, to taste

smoked paprika, to taste

sherry vinegar vinegar

olive oil



I've made this is a mortar and pestle - it takes less than a minute, you could also do this in a small food processor.



Place the garlic cloves and a pinch of sea salt flakes into your mortar - use the pestle to grind this into a smoothish paste. Sea salt flakes have a great cutting action and will turn the garlic into paste with very little effort.



Next add in the picked coriander leaves, using a pounding action to break the leaves up, then sprinkle in ½ teaspoon of ground cumin and a pinch of paprika. Use the pestle in a stirring action to form a rough amalgamated paste.



Pour in a little sherry vinegar and a tablespoon of olive oil and continue stirring. Taste and adjust the seasoning.



Finish off with enough oil to form a thick sauce - the consistency you're after is like a dipping sauce.



This sauce works well with fish and shellfish but also is a great match to potatoes - be they simply boiled or roasted in skin.

All Rights Reserved ©Haalo. For personal non-commercial use only - this feed may not be republished.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

Scott made this fabulous salad for dinner on Monday night; a quick meal before I left for school. It was very fast to put together and was so flavorful. If we loved it this much in the winter I can only imagine how great it will be on a hot summers night.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons

4 to 6 garlic cloves

1 cup chopped and loosely packed cilantro

1/2 jalapeno or other fresh hot pepper, chopped (optional)

3 TB sugar

1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 limes)

3 TB Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce, OR 1 tsp salt

12 oz dried rice vermicelli

2 carrots peeled and cut into a thin julienne or grated

1 english cucumber halved, seeded and cut into thin slices

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

4 (we used much more) Napa cabbage leaves (optional)

1/4 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped

mint for garnish

Place the garlic, cilantro and hot pepper in a food processor, process until coarsely chopped. Add the sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce or salt and blend again. Let sit while you chop the vegetables and cook the noodles.

Cook the rice noodles until just tender in boiling water. Drain and rinse with cold water until the noodles are cool. Place in a large bowl.

Toss the noodles with the vegetables and dressing. Garnish each serving with peanuts and additional mint.

__________________________________________

My fellow Babe and just all-around lovely person Astrid of Paulchens Food Blog is hosting this week's Weekend Herb Blogging, so I must send this salad full of cilantro and mint for her to include in the round up! See more details here.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

Scott made this fabulous salad for dinner on Monday night; a quick meal before I left for school. It was very fast to put together and was so flavorful. If we loved it this much in the winter I can only imagine how great it will be on a hot summers night.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons

4 to 6 garlic cloves

1 cup chopped and loosely packed cilantro

1/2 jalapeno or other fresh hot pepper, chopped (optional)

3 TB sugar

1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 limes)

3 TB Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce, OR 1 tsp salt

12 oz dried rice vermicelli

2 carrots peeled and cut into a thin julienne or grated

1 english cucumber halved, seeded and cut into thin slices

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

4 (we used much more) Napa cabbage leaves (optional)

1/4 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped

mint for garnish

Place the garlic, cilantro and hot pepper in a food processor, process until coarsely chopped. Add the sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce or salt and blend again. Let sit while you chop the vegetables and cook the noodles.

Cook the rice noodles until just tender in boiling water. Drain and rinse with cold water until the noodles are cool. Place in a large bowl.

Toss the noodles with the vegetables and dressing. Garnish each serving with peanuts and additional mint.

__________________________________________

My fellow Babe and just all-around lovely person Astrid of Paulchens Food Blog is hosting this week's Weekend Herb Blogging, so I must send this salad full of cilantro and mint for her to include in the round up! See more details here.