This month’s featured ingredient: Cilantro

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in this RecipEmail:

• a note from Andrea (& upcoming Spring Cleanse!)
• a recipe for Cilantro Infused Sancocho Inspired Soup
• refreshing Cilantro

Oh no, you might say: not cilantro!

Yes, cilantro. This month I’m highlighting an herb that’s prone to dispute. People either love it or hate it. It’s met with either adoration or repulsion. Which camp are you in?

On the hate side, can you believe there’s a Facebook Fan Page called “I Hate Ciliantro”? (There’s actually more than one FB page devoted to cilantro loathing ~ and if you’re among this crowd, and tempted to head over there right now, please STOP! Read on and give cilantro a chance.)

Personally, I don’t remember even encountering the fresh herb until my young adult life. As a cilantro lover, that’s an atrocity. I love the crisp texture, the hint of lemon. I enjoy cilantro in salsa, curry, spring rolls, and as a base for pesto. Oh, I don’t want to forget fish tacos! Cilantromakes a fish taco. But my favorite place for cilantro is my morning green smoothie.

Before you scrunch up your nose, consider that the beauty of cilantro lies not only in its refreshing flavor (for those of us in the love category), but also in it’s powerful health benefits. Among them are its abilities to help remove heavy metals from the body. It’s been considered the “poor man’s chelation treatment”. And chelation, the removal of heavy metals from the bloodstream, is what we all need right now, as we transition into spring and begin to support the body’s most powerful pathways of detoxification.

While the calendar says spring, it doesn’t quite feel like it yet, at least not here in Portland. This is precisely the reason why Andrea Livingston and I wait a little longer, until we’re fully seated in the season, to offer our TrulyFood Cleanse of the season. Luckily it’s not too early to reserve your spot for Rejuvenate: A Spring Cleanse, scheduled for May 7th! By the time May rolls around we’re anticipating a bit more warmth to help you welcome the deep detox that this season calls for. It’s time to give your liver a little loving! Start with a cilantro steeped April.

Note: Most people who don’t like cilantro are reacting to the herb’s smell, not taste. If you don’t like cilantro, but want to experience its blessings, hold your nose while you throw it in your blender and give it a whirl.

Cilantro Infused Sancocho Inspired Soup

I’m not really sure I’m allowed to call this soup sancocho, which is a traditional Columbian stew, but it was the roots of a sancocho that inspired this dish. I mean that both literally, since sancocho tends to include root vegetables in the brew, as well as figuratively, given that I was doing a bit of sancocho inquiry while creating this month’s recipEmail.

Part of my explorations lead me to my new friend and business associate Ricardo (whom you’ll be hearing more about later this month). Ricardo is smart, playful and creative, with a massive dream that I believe will come true. He’s also Colombian. I couldn’t help but share some of what Ricardo had to say about sancocho. You can read his words below the recipe.

ingredients:
9 cups broth
1 large onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, smashed
1 large bunch cilantro, tied together with kitchen string + reserved cilantro for garnish
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed
large pinch saffron threads
good-quality sea salt (about 3 teaspoons)
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
6 small purple potatoes, sliced
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 small rutabaga, sliced
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, sliced
cooked clams, fish, chicken, whole garbanzos (optional)

preparation:

1. In a large pot, combine the broth, onion, garlic, tied cilantro and cumin. Crush the saffron between your fingers as you sprinkle it into the pot. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. Add one teaspoon of sea salt to the broth. Scoop one cup of broth into a blender and add the two cups of cooked garbanzo beans. Cover and blend until integrated.
3. Remove the tied cilantro from the broth and set aside. (You can discard it or put it aside to use creatively in a smoothie or another blended soup.) Pour the contents of the blender back into the pot with the remaining broth.
4. Bring the broth to a simmer. Add the sliced potatoes, carrots and rutabaga. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and add up to 2 teaspoons more sea salt to bring out the subtle flavors.
5. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with sliced avocado, de-stemmed fresh cilantro, and your added cooked protein, if desired. Oh, and don’t forget the Aji if you’d like! (See below.)

“What makes sancocho fantastic is the family atmosphere in which it’s created. Generally, it’s served at large family gatherings. The last time I had it we were at the top of some Andean mountain with a magnificent view. The pot, a large sculpted black vessel, was placed over a fire pit made of wood. The ingredients were thrown in as the family played and laughed in the background. The broth atmosphere was soothing and promising and when the soup was served I had my biggest surprise: It was served with Aji ~ red jabeneros, olive oil, onions, cilantro, tomato, boiled eggs, salt, vinegar, wow delicious, yummy, worthy of entry into the palace of the gods.”
~ Ricardo

If that doesn’t get you in the mood for some Cilantro-Infused-Sancocho-Inspired Soup, what will?!

REFRESHING CILANTRO

Cilantro is the fresh, leafy herb from the coriander plant. While I tend to call the seed coriander and the frilly plant cilantro, you’ll find that the plant is sometimes referred to as coriander as well.

Like parsley, cilantro belongs to the carrot family. It looks similar to parsley too, but cilantro leaves tend to be flatter, softer and lighter in color.

The Health Benefits of Cilantro:

: : Cilantro helps to regulate energy with its astringent and cooling flavor.

: : Cilantro is a diuretic, making it useful in the treatment of any urinary tract infections, helping to wash away any unwanted bacteria. In fact, cilantro contains a compound called Dodecenol which has been shown to have powerful antibiotic capacites.

: : Both cilantro and coriander are great digestive aids. The oils they contain help to relieve gas (which may account for their accompaniment in bean-laden Mexican dishes!), soothe stomach pain, reduce bloating and promote the peristalsis that keeps our food moving through the GI tract.

: : Cilantro is a great detoxifier, effectively mobilizing heavy metals such as mercury and aluminum out of the bloodstream. (Aim for 2 tablespoons per day.)
The mechanism of action is pretty cool here. The chemical compounds in cilantro actually bind to the heavy metals, loosen them from the tissues, blood and organs, and transport the harmful substances out of the body through elimination.

: : Pain and symptoms of inflammation can be quelled by the continued use of cilantro, which is also known for its anti-inflammatory properties. It’s the cineole and linoleic acid contained within cilantro that house these anti-rheumatic and anti-arthritic properties.

: : And cilantro is one of your natural cholesterol regulating agents ~ helping to increase HDL and decrease LDL by stimulating the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids in the liver. This will simultaneously aid and improve in the digestion of fat.

Uses for Cilantro:
: : I just tried a delicious recipe for cilantro-pumpkin seed pesto from The Herbfarm Cookbook. You can substitute cilantro for the basil and toasted pumpkin seeds for the nuts in your favorite pesto recipe.
: : Any Thai soup or curry is scrumptious topped with cilantro. You can also try the infusion done with this recipe. Think coconut, carrot, veggies, turmeric. . .
: : Chicken or fish can be rubbed or stuffed with cilantro before cooking, by itself or in a marinade.
: : Don’t forget all your Mexican dishes where cilantro can be added ~ salsa, guacamole, burritos, tacos, gazpacho, beans and even egg dishes.
: : Add cilantro sprigs to glasses of water squeezed with lemon.
: : Include cilantro in a homemade coleslaw.
: : And don’t miss the opportunity to throw some cilantro in your next smoothie. Here’s a nice mixture: peeled grapefruit, peeled cucumber, cilantro, lime, vanilla, cinnamon and a little liquid stevia or raw honey.