The primary kitchen chore I used to be ever tasked with was selecting cilantro leaves. It occurred one Sunday morning, as my father was making aloo paratha, the flaky Indian flatbread that is full of spiced mashed potatoes. I used to be loitering impatiently on the fringe of the kitchen, and he requested me to undergo a bunch of cilantro for the filling. I can nonetheless bear in mind how strongly he emphasised the significance of constructing positive every leaf was stem-free—he claimed that even somewhat little bit of stem might destroy the paratha expertise.
In fact, that is not true—cilantro’s stems are completely simple to eat (my father could be a bit choosy). And but, for many years, I continued to painstakingly go over bunches of cilantro in my residence kitchen, plucking every leaf free; after washing and spinning dry all of the leaves, I would throw the pile of stems into the trash.
These days, although, I do know higher. First off, I comply with Kenji’s rigorously researched pointers for storing contemporary herbs like cilantro, parsley, mint, and basil. I take advantage of the tender stems in salads or sandwiches, and, occasionally, I finely chop them and add them to nuoc cham. And after I’m making different Southeast Asian dishes, like Thai-style grilled hen, I comply with Kenji’s recommendation and substitute these flavorful cilantro stems for cilantro root, which may be exceedingly tough to seek out.
Lengthy story quick, whereas we frequently use solely the tender leaves of herbs in completed dishes, the stems nonetheless have loads to supply. The following time you are on the brink of toss a bundle, think about saving them for bouquet garni, the seasoning bundle that may taste hen inventory and stews like this Provençal ratatouille.
Toss just a few additional stems into the pan so as to add complexity to your subsequent butter-basted steak. Need to take pleasure in a béarnaise with that steak? Seize some chervil and tarragon stems. Equally, basil stems make an ideal addition to tomato sauces, of each the quick-cooked and slow-cooked varieties.
Critical Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Herb stems are additionally far hardier than their leaves, which signifies that they stand as much as freezing higher. So if you are going to chop up herbs and freeze them in oil, or in case you’re planning on drying your herbs within the microwave, think about tossing the unused stems in a freezer bag together with vegetable scraps; they may turn out to be useful to your subsequent fast vegetable inventory.