Mint - The Underappreciated Herb

[*amy*]

Admittedly, I'm not a huge mint fan, but caught this cooking segment on the CBS Early Show - with some pretty interesting recipes using Mint:

Halibut cooked in banana leaves w Thai-lemon Mint sauce

Grilled lamb skewers with spiced mint marinade

Coconut-mint cream cake

Southside (gin, mint, lime juice, soda water)

If you have lots of Mint and need some ideas, here's a look-see:

Mint -- The Underappreciated Herb, Bon Appetit's Dede Wilson: It's Good In More Than Just Toothpaste, Gum, Tea And Cookies! - CBS News

 

[QSis]

Oooo, yeah, I DO have a lush pot of mint!

I like the sound of the drink "Southside", but want to change the gin to vodka. I'll call it the "Northside"!

Have to drink a mint of them, to get rid of my whole plant! (how's that for a horrible pun, BT?)

Lee

Northside

2 sprigs of fresh mint
2 lime wedges
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces vodka
4 ounces soda water

Muddle 1 mint sprig with the limes, lime juice, and simple syrup in the bottom
of a pint glass/bar glass.
Add vodka and shake well.
Pour into a highball over crushed ice and stir until glass frosts.
Top with soda water and garnish with sprig of mint.

 

[*amy*]

Oooo, yeah, I DO have a lush pot of mint!

I like the sound of the drink "Southside", but want to change the gin to vodka. I'll call it the "Northside"!

Have to drink a mint of them, to get rid of my whole plant! (how's that for a horrible pun, BT?)

Lee

Northside

2 sprigs of fresh mint
2 lime wedges
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces vodka
4 ounces soda water

Muddle 1 mint sprig with the limes, lime juice, and simple syrup in the bottom
of a pint glass/bar glass.
Add vodka and shake well.
Pour into a highball over crushed ice and stir until glass frosts.
Top with soda water and garnish with sprig of mint.

I'll "side" with you on the Vodka, Lee. If you have some spare rolleyes mint, try mint pesto.

Now, I need to go find some banana leaves and make that halibut & coconut mint cake ;-)

 

[CharlieD]

I gues I have a lot's of mint because my father planted, he loves mint tea and mint bath. Me - I hate mint tea, mint bath and anything else that is mint. So thank you, but no thank you.

 

[coriander]

I snip some into all our summer salads. Yum.

 

[ironchef]

I like mint, but it has to be used carefully and with certain flavors because it can really throw off the flavor in a dish.

 

[coriander]

It can be almost as aggressive in a dish as it is in the garden. A light touch is essential when using it. And of course always plant with pot still attached - it won't stop the spread, but it can give you a fighting chance.

 

[Alix]

I prefer spearmint to peppermint myself. And honestly, I use it rarely for anything except tea. I will occasionally put it in with a salad but thats about it.

 

[Chopstix]

I fell in love with a 'Cherry and Mint jam' made at home by a French woman in Provence. It was absolute heaven. I swore to myself that I will make it myself too. Mind you, I'm not a jam person at all so that says a lot!

 

[Alix]

Hey Chopstix, how are you? And did you get that recipe? Would you consider posting it? I'd love to see it.

 

[Chopstix]

Hey Alix, I'm great, thanks! I just emailed her asking for the recipe. I'm still kicking myself for not being forward enough to ask her outright when I had the chance. I'll PM it to you as soon as I get it from her. Cross our fingers!

 

[Alix]

YAY! Glad to hear that, looking forward to it.

 

[Yakuta]

In Indian food we use mint in a lot of dishes. Given Indians use cilantro/corrainder leaf in most dishes and it has a pungent strong flavor, the addition of mint with corrainder just is a great balance in these dishes.

My favorite dishes that I cannot make without mint are:

Biryani - A one dish rice, meat dish which has a lot of bold spices and a good dose of cilantro and mint. It's India's answer to paella

Sheekh Kabab - I make mine with ground beef or ground turkey and it's flavored with lots of spices, onions and mint and cilantro

Lentil Rice - Again lots of mint and when its cooked the flavor of the mint dilutes and mingles well with the other flavors

Mint Chutney - We use this as a dipping sauce for pakodas, samosas and other Indian fast foods. It's basically lots of mint, some cilantro, a couple cloves of garlic, a green chili, salt and lots of lime juice all pureed.

Chai - I love to make Indian tea with mint and cardamom. Very comforting in the cold Chicago winters

Summer drinks - We make a green mango sherbet with mint. It's extremely refreshing in the summer and the mint is a great addition

I use it for other extremely authentic dishes like Haleem (which cannot be made in my opinion without mint). Haleem is again a one pot meal made with lots of beans and meat and is just delicious. It's a good amount of work to make and not sure how many westerners are familiar with it. If anyone ever wants a recipe ask and I will be happy to post.

 

[Claire]

I do not use my mint patch as well as I should. In spite of it being separated by a good three feet from the rest of my herb garden, it can get under and around the sidewalk that separates them and try to take over. Last year my husband sank some deep pvc tubes into the ground and I still wound up with so much that twice over the season I cut it right down to the ground! I had to kill the peppermint I grew because it was killing the spearmint.

In season, I wouldn't dream of making an Asian dish (especially Indian and Southeast Asian) without it. If not actually in the cooked meal, sprigs of it tossed on top at the last minute. Asian salads of all sort benefit from it. But I mostly use it when a southern friend of mine visits -- she loves mint juleps!

 

[Andy M.]

Spearmint is a recurring herb in Armenian dishes.

I always feel like I have to differentiate between spearmint and peppermint to be sure there is now question which is being discussed. I think most recipes call for spearmint with peppermint being confined to candy and desserts.

 

[BreezyCooking]

For some reason I've never warmed up to mint in cooking. For a sauce to accompany lamb, in baked goods & confections, & in herbal tea is about it for me.

 

[ErikC]

I love mint with peas...I think I posted a quick Frozen Pea Soup here once, but at the risk of repeating myself, here it is again:

1. Dump frozen peas in a pot.
2. Add water to the top of the peas.
3. Add salt, turn on the heat and cook until peas are soft.
4. Remove from heat and zap it with an Immersion Blender
5. Add a bit of butter or cream (if desired)
6. Add chopped mint.

Fast, beautiful, tasty and elegant. Probably good for you too!

 

[Claire]

Erik, this sounds so ****ed good. As soon as it raises its head (probably next month), I'll make this as a first course for my next get-together.

 

[lyndaW]

I press (after washing) the mint leaves into my lamb chopson both sides a few hours before grilling them

 

[lyndaW]

This year I planted mint in with my strawberry plants in a container.....will be interesting to see if it changes the taste of the strawberries

Also in another container I planted lavender in with my strawberry plants....