Dried balls of coriander from my garden.
First, I’d like to welcome all of our 401 followers. The three of us-Tia Marta, Amy and, me, Carolyn Niethammer–realize that we write about quirky subjects and we will never attract the numbers of readers as do bloggers who concentrate on such things as chocolate and whipped cream. Here you’ll most likely find foods that hide their goodness beneath spines, spices that tingle on the tongue, plants that have fed humans for thousands of years. We love having you as a community of cooks who love trying wild foods and getting creative with Southwest flavors. We come to you every 10 days with something seasonal and delicious.
It’s getting very warm in our Southwestern desert city and garden plants that don’t like hot weather are giving up. This includes cilantro that has been such a lovely addition to so many foods all winter. But it doesn’t go away entirely. First it flowers, then it leaves tiny balls that when dried we call coriander. Some people call both the fresh herb and the dried coriander, but each of them has a distinct flavor so giving them each their own name seems fair.
Fresh cilantro likes cooler weather in the garden.
After the cilantro leaves dry up, the flowers produce these tiny balls that we call coriander.
Coriander combines beautifully with other Southwestern herbs, giving them a twang, a tiny bit of sweetness, and a depth of flavor that works to meld the other flavors. It is widely used in East Indian dishes. Below is a beginning recipe, but you should feel free to customize it to your own taste. Then you can use it as a rub for pork or chicken, you can add it to sauces that need a little something, use it while stir-frying veggies, and even just use it as a dipping spice for pita bread or fat flour tortillas.
Southwestern Spice Rub
Go very light on the salt or it can overwhelm the other flavors. Taste the blend without the salt first; you may decide you don’t need it.
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon chile powder of choice
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed (optional)
pinch of salt (optional)
Combine all herbs and flavorings. Taste and adjust. Use as a rub or a dipping spice.
Put a small puddle of good olive oil on a plate, dip your pita in the oil and then your coriander spice mix. Delicious!
Why was Tucson named the first US UNESCO City of Gastronomy? How about 8,000 years of food history, the first agriculture in what we now call the United States, the first irrigation, and the fact that people in the Santa Cruz Valley still eat some of the same foods that the Native population enjoyed all those years ago. You can read the whole fascinating story in my new book “A Desert Feast: Celebrating Tucson’s Culinary Heritage.” And find recipes for these foods in “Cooking the Wild Southwest: Delicious Recipes for Desert Plants.”
Savor the Southwest: 