A spiced and particularly tasty side dish: carrots and peppers with pistachios and cilantro. Today I want to talk to you about cilantro, a plant that at first glance looks very similar to our parsley, but it isn’t.

I’m talking about cilantro today, together with other blogger friends for the column herbs and flowers on the plate. You can also find their cilantro recipes at the end of the article.

Cilantro, or rather Coriandrum sativum, is an herbaceous plant that comes from the countries around the Mediterranean Sea.

As I said, it resembles parsley because it is part of the umbellifers, like cumin, dill and fennel. Sometimes in recipes you may also find it under another name, cilantro or Chinese parsley.

Do you know why it’s called coriander? Because its round seeds look like little confetti (the word “coriandoli”).

Curiosities about cilantro

The origin of the word “carnival confetti” actually comes from the seeds of this plant. Yes indeed, because cilantro is not used only fresh; very often its seeds are used, whole or ground. To be honest I almost prefer them to the leaves because the seeds have a milder flavor. In curry or garam masala powdered coriander is always present. If you want to add an extra touch to an ethnic or Indian dish, add some coriander and you’ll taste how good it is.

Fresh cilantro is something you either love or hate; some say it tastes like soap, and its distinctive flavor can stay in the mouth for a few hours.

Thai soups with fresh cilantro, for example, are exceptional. When I find it (here in Veneto it’s a bit cold to grow) I also add it to vegetables as in this recipe. In the recipes of the great chef Ottolenghi, whom I adore, fresh cilantro is used very often.

In this recipe I recommend pistachios, but you can also add mixed seeds. I also used black garlic which I find exceptional together with fresh cilantro.

Here are a few recipes where adding cilantro can make them outstanding.