Cilantro Pesto
Fry alyyeh
The Italians have their pesto, the French their pistou and the Lebanese have the cilantro pesto commonly called aliyyeh. It is a simple mixture of fresh garlic, cilantro and olive oil, sauteed for mere minutes till the fragrance is released and the ingredients bond together into a manageable paste. The idea is to barely cook it, then set it aside and swirl the mixture into your dish as a final step. This is the secret step that gives the dish an intoxicating kick of flavor. In addition, the alyyeh can be conveniently frozen for up to 3 months in small containers or plastic pouches and pulled out of the freezer at a moment’s notice. As a child growing up in Beirut I knew when the fragrance of alyyeh was in the air that we would be eating soon and my mouth would water…
INGREDIENTS. This is for a single dish and if you want to store extra, just multiply the quantities.
1 Bunch of cilantro
8 cloves of garlic
3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
METHOD:
- Wash and dry cilantro (use a salad spinner for speed). Chop leaves and discard the stems.
- Peel and chop garlic and mash with a teaspoon of salt in a wooden pestle or with a mini-processor.
- Chop the cilantro leaves either in a mini-processor or by hand, preferably by hand.
- Heat the olive oil for 3 minutes then add the cilantro and garlic. Mix it in the skillet with a spoon until it forms a compact mixture and the fragrance rises up, about 2 minutes, no more.
- Set it aside and either use immediately or cool and freeze the cilantro pesto in small containers with a film of olive oil for added protection for up to 3 months.
TIP
I strongly recommend multiplying the recipe to save time. Use a whole head of garlic and 4 bunches of cilantro and up to 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil to maximize your time in the kitchen; divide the remaining mixture into single servings and freeze.
NOTE:
This pesto is used to add flavor to stews, potatoes, soups, chicken, fish and any yoghurt sauce.
3 Comments
Esalaams,
I just love pesto but this is interesting … cilantro huh?We here have a mixture called chermoula … is it similar? I will try this out .. sounds nice!
I am going to have to try chermoula. I have heard about it. This alyyeh is used a lot in Lebanese stews. You put a tablespoon or so at the last minute and it infuses the stew with a fabulous flavor that Lebanese folks are very fond of.
interesting, sounds similar to taqliyya (guess its another spelling variation of the same thing), which is like your recipe or using dried coriander seeds like I read in
an Egyptian cookbook. It is used to add flavor to Mhlouyia. I have not tried it using fresh coriander (cilantro) but I can imagine how aromatic it is.