Cilantro Night

Cilantro is one of those special herbs that divide people. Those who hate it and those who love it. I belong to the latter. I love dishes with cilantro and I often keep a whole bunch in my fridge on hand. It's fresh taste is always a welcome treat on my palate. The fresh burst of flavor as soon as you bite on it, cools the tongue and instantly reminds you of summer.

All parts of the cilantro plant is edible, from the tender leaves, to the stalks and down to the roots. However, the fresh tender leaves are what's commonly used in cooking. Cilantro is an herb commonly used in Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian and Mexican Dishes. I can't imagine having Mexican salsa without this fragrant herb!

Coriander or Cilantro leaves lose their flavor quite easily when touched by heat that's why it only added at the last minute of cooking or as a special garnish.

Since I love this herb so much, I had made dinner in honor of this herb. Since cilantro is most popularly used in Mexican dishes, I threw a Mexican dinner extravaganza for 2 last night. Well, extravaganza is a strong word.

I came upon an avocado and cherry tomato salad recipe somewhere and I put a twist on it by adding cilantro instead of parsley. This salad is quite refreshing and very healthy.




Avocado and Cherry Tomato Salad (for 2)
1 Avocado, pitted and sliced
5-6 pieces, cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Juice of 1 lime
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 shallot, sliced
Cilantro leaves

1. Combine avocado and tomato.
2. Make the dressing by combining lime juice, olive oil, shallot, salt and pepper. Pour over avocado and tomatoes.
3. Toss with cilantro leaves. Chill before serving.

As main course, I served Chili Con Carne over baked potatoes. It takes a while to make but it's very easy and it's worth it. You will need:

3/4 cup red kidney beans
2 Baking potatoes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 white onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 kilo lean ground beef
Cumin
Catsup
Worcestershire Sauce
Chili Sauce
3/4 can diced tomatoes
Cheddar cheese, grated
Sour cream



1. In a big stock pot, place red kidney beans, salt and plenty of water. Boil for 2 hours or until very tender. Keep adding water from time to time for the water will quickly evaporate. Set aside, including the water. (You can used canned red kidney beans, if you prefer)
2. Meanwhile, toss baking potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Prick with a fork and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until tender. Slice in half.
3. In a separate pot, saute onions in olive oil until soft, add the garlic, saute until just fragrant, do not brown.
4. Add the lean ground beef and continue to stir until the meat is no longer pink. Add half of the red kidney beans,cumin, catsup, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce and the canned tomatoes with its juices as well as the boiling liquid used in the beans.
5. Mash the remaining beans with a little bit of the boiling liquid. Add to the ground beef pot. Simmer for 10 minutes or so.

To serve:
Place Chili con Carne between the sliced potato, top with grated cheddar cheese, cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.

For side dish, some tortilla chips with homemade salsa will be perfect. In fact, hubby was munching on it when I was still taking pictures! That's how much he loves the salsa.



Hubby kept calling me the whole day telling me how excited he was with dinner. He loves cilantro and Mexican food too. He came home bearing gifts of Lord Stowe's egg tarts and red plump roses.

The egg tarts were for dessert.



The roses were for the wife, who slaved over a hot oven the whole afternoon :-)