An extraordinary crop of Coriander this year!

I guess this could just as easily go in Gardening, but it's cooking too.

I didn't grow much during Spring and Summer, but i did make sure I put down some Coriander in Early March. I can't remember if it was 2 or 4 packets, but I think it must have been 4. What you can see in the pic is about 2/3 of the total crop! I have pulled up the bare patches, but the right hand rectangle was never planted (I ran out of seeds :D).

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So what I have pulled up (as per that pic) has so far yielded around 11 litres of Pesto......you can see where this is going......

This morning I pulled up another four bunches of 600 grams each (net after trimming the bottom off).
This is one 600g bunch.

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So now I have pulled up just over half the crop which has made 16.1 litres. Pretty soon I'll be down to my last 30 litres.

I figured I had enough to do some experimenting with flavours. To one batch yesterday I added 3 very mean chillies that I was given. Lola said it was pretty hot (and I thought that when I tasted it) but when I actually had it for lunch it was pretty mild. Maybe the cheddar cheese (fat) controlled the heat.

To another batch I added some Ginger but I was a bit timid I think. I'll have another go at that on the next batch....and there WILL be a next batch....or 4.



What was really good about this crop was the density of the plants - they shut out the weeds almost completely, and those that did get a start stayed at just that - a short start. I liquid fertilised twice with Miracle Gro (very aptly named!) and once with some 10-12 year Seasol. They have been growing for around 10 weeks.

There were NIL pests (ok I saw one flyboy thing), and I didn't use any chemicals whatsoever (except noted above). All I had to remove was the odd yellow leaf and some Autumn leaves that had snuck through the 1" Birdwire. Talk about easy gardening!

There is something immensely satisfying about trimming as you crop and being able to put it straight into the blender without even needing to wash it. :2tsup:

I've changed the recipe slightly from last season apparently. Now it's:

Coriander	600	gram	Finished weight, after trimming.
Garlic	35	gram
Parmesan Cheese	180	gram
Cashew Nuts	225	gram
Lime Juice	180	ml
Olive Oil	150	ml	but to suit the paste

I add about a third of each into the food processor at a time. Those quantities are to suit my machine.

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I've been using the aged Parmesan from Aldi, but for this lot I used 50/50 of that and the slightly cheaper (and younger) one. Already I've used something like 12 blocks.

The lime juice is 50% courtesy of Greg Ward (Boutique Timbers) at Telegraph Point. fletty and I called to buy some timber a few weeks ago and Greg took me to one of his Lime Trees which produces orange coloured limes (fruit as well as skin). I used a 50/50 blend of this and the frozen juice from a bulk purchase in February.

This is today's 5.5 litre result from four of those 600g bunches (which would cost around $28 each bunch at the F&V guy).

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which yields 9 x 6 block trays (each block is as big as a 20 pack of cigarettes, and ~100mls)

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Awesome harvest there FF.
If you're into spicy foods at all, cook up a Thai beef salad with some of that fresh coriander.
Not sure what you're going to do with the remaining 35Kg, but it may help with a few hundred grams! :U

Tastes really good too! I polished my two packs off within a few days.

Andy, you may have to come up to check a couple of Cypress slabs I picked up at Mullinbimby (no knots), and grab some more Pesto. I'm here the next couple of days if that works for you (bring Holly & esky with you).