by Leslie Cox; Wednesday; January 18, 2017

Few herbs provide us with a variety of uses, and taste sensations, from their different plant parts. One such is the coriander…Coriandrum sativum. Or perhaps you are used to calling it ‘cilantro’, but it is still botanically known as Coriandrum sativum.

Certainly cilantro appears to be the better-known term, referring to the leaves of the plant which are used in Mexican, Peruvian, Asian, Middle Eastern and Indian culinary dishes.

The flavour of cilantro comes through as a strong, grass-like taste with overtones of almost an insect-like aroma coupled with lemons. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? And it certainly is not to everyone’s taste buds…but this very unique flavour is exactly what sets off my husband’s Technicolour Salsa recipe to perfection.

In fact, John was never a fan of the strong flavour of cilantro…until he made up this recipe for a music party we were hosting for our friends. Perhaps a wee bit brazen to trial a brand new, unproven recipe on friends, but heck! They are all good sports. Thankfully, the recipe proved to be a huge hit. Moral of this little story…if you do not like the taste of cilantro, perhaps you have not used it in quite the right recipe yet. Persevere with the trials.

Or…you may just want to switch to coriander.

These are the seeds from the Coriandrum sativum plant and they have a much more pleasant taste, making them very useful in a broader range of culinary uses. Unlike cilantro, they belong under the spice heading.

Dried and crushed finely, the seeds have a unique taste combination of sage and lemon peel. This may sound a little strange too, but it is this exact flavour which makes coriander such a great accent to almost every herb and spice combination for adding to both savoury and sweet dishes.

Classified as an “amalgamating spice”, it effectively balances both pungent and sweet blends in a wide range from a hot harissa paste to a blend for flavouring a delicate dessert dish.

Oops! Were you a little heavy-handed with one spice when making up your own spice blend? Not to worry. If the flavour of one ingredient, such as cinnamon, is too strong…simply measure out enough ground coriander to double the amount of that overpowering one, and add it to your mix. This works for almost any mistake in spice blending, bringing your blend back into balance.

Going back to cilantro…

To help those who have yet to acquire a taste for this herb, I have posted John’s recipe in “Recipes: From Garden to Table” under “In the Garden” on the Menu Bar. Or just double click on Technicolour Salsa.

I also promised in my Duchess of Dirt column which appeared in the January 19th, 2017 edition of the Comox Valley Record, that I would list the vegetables which pair well with coriander. These include: artichokes, beets, bulb fennel, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, cucumbers, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, kohlrabi, leafy greens, mushrooms, parsnips, pumpkin, shallots, summer squash, winter squash, zucchini.

But don’t let this list hold you back. Go ahead and experiment. You just may spice up your life!