Love of the Green
When I moved to Los Angeles many years ago I hated the place. I didn't know how to drive except for the few lessons my boyfriend had given me, which always ended in a fight, me shouting 'I never even WANTED to learn this shit! Plus you're a horrible teacher!'
It's amazing the relationship lasted as long as it did, 3 years, with him finally leaving me for another woman, someone older who could tolerate him...someone who already knew how to drive. So I was mostly on foot, or took the bus, which in those days was called the “RTD”, Rapid Transit District, or “Reason To Drink”, as I renamed it, not that I needed a reason, but that's another story.
There was a supermarket near our apartment in Venice, a 'Lucky' market, which has closed down....has been swallowed up by a 'Mayfair' market chain, which I think of as the root of all greed and evil. It's wildly over-priced. My friends call it the 'Unfair'. But 'Lucky's' was a place I loved to go once I got the hang of the giant place....all those aisles, so neatly stacked and colorful. When you come from New York these are things that are truly impressive since space is at such a premium there and you buy your food in small groceries with narrow aisles and lots of people grabbing for the same tomato. As much as I hated LA, I did love the food. Avocados were 25 cents each then, and you could find chili peppers of all colors and shapes. A lot of it was unfamiliar, but I'm fearless, even reckless, when it comes to eating and experimenting, and I wanted to try everything!
The piles of herbs, light and dark green, purple, almost grey, really intrigued me. I knew parsley, mint, tarragon even, but there was another cluster with leaves I didn't recognise. Small and scalloped, delicate, and with a smell like limes, or the ocean maybe. Cilantro! Here was a reason to stay in this strange city, with this guy who seemed just as empty as the streets. At first I would just chop it up and sprinkle it on things...on everything in fact, but then, with a food processor years later I could incorporate it into yogurt, or heavy cream, for a rich zingy sauce on fish. I love it so much that it has become a kind of barometer in my relationships. I ask 'How do you feel about cilantro?' and if someone says 'It tastes like soap' I know the chemistry isn't right and we have no future. This is a powerful herb with an unforgettable flavor, and one of the best ways to use it is in a pesto. I love pesto made with basil, but try cilantro instead and see the world with new eyes.
Simple Cilantro Pesto
This is a recipe you can doll-up with a variety of nuts, like almonds or pecans, but pine nuts provide a certain kind of smooth richness to the pesto, even though they cost about a million dollars an ounce.
Place all these ingredients in the food processor except for the oil, and pulse until the stuff is chopped fine, then add oil in a stream and puree until smooth.
3 cloves garlic
1 cup cilantro, packed, including stems
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Pinch of salt and also pepper
½ cup olive oil
Use this pesto on anything, even drizzle on a bunch of sliced tomatoes and you’ve got the perfect side dish.