November, 2003

• The Recipe: Death by Cilantro
• The Song: The Oak Tree

With the holiday season close upon us, I thought I would share with you my most requested party dish, "Death by Cilantro". Now, cilantro seems to be one of those things people really love or really hate. It was once described by a friend of mine (a cilantro hater) as tasting like old dead mummies in an Egyptian tomb. I myself am a cilantro lover, and I guarantee that this is as intense an experience with cilantro as you'll ever have. In fact, I've found that even the most diehard cilantro haters find that they like this.

I got this recipe from my friend, Rosa Kittstiener. Rosa lives in Minneapolis but originally came from Chile in South America. Rosa says it is a very popular side dish in Chile. I can never remember what she calls this dish, but I believe it was 'pebre'. After watching the many facial contortions of people who were trying this for the first time, I renamed it "Death by Cilantro". Enjoy!

Wash cilantro, then chop finely. Put cilantro into a bowl and add oil a little at a time, not to cover, but enough to make a thick, soupy paste.
Add juice of lemon or lime.
Peel garlic. With a garlic press, squeeze juice of garlic into cilantro paste.
Add salt, and 12 heaping tablespoons of ground black pepper. Mix together thoroughly.
If mixture seems too thick, add a little more oil. If too thin, you may need to add a little more chopped cilantro.
Serve with sliced bread for dipping.

I usually double this recipe when I make it. It's best served fresh, but will keep well refrigerated for a few weeks. Remember, the longer it sits, the more the black pepper will kick in. It also tastes great on eggs, potatoes (baked or hashbrowns), pasta, rice or vegetables, grilled chicken or fish. use your imagination.

My musical recipe this time is one of my many transcriptions from the fiddling of John Doherty. I chose this tune for a few different reasons. First, it is a very popular tune from Donegal, so there are many recorded versions to listen to. I first heard it played by the Donegal fiddler Tommy Peoples on his fine recording with guitarist Paul Brady on Shanachie Records. This transcription comes from John Doherty himself on a CD called "The Floating Bow". This CD was out of print for a while, and I found a copy of it in Dublin. If you can't find this CD here in the states, you can order it from:
Claddagh Records Limited
Damehouse, Dame Street
Dublin 2, Ireland
The tune is called "The Oak Tree" (though on "The Floating Bow" John calls it "Old Simon's Hornpipe", after the name of John's grandfather).

The other reason I chose this tune is that it shows some of the incredible bowing ideas in Doherty's fiddling. In the "A" part of the tune the first six measures are played with long bows to keep the open A string droning like the pipes. The A notes in the melody are played with the 4th finger on the D string, so that you can keep the A string droning. John pretty much played it with one long bow for two measures. The "B" part of the tune features lots of the staccato triplets that John was famous for.

Comments, questions or other recipes for borscht or other fine treats? Write to me at PO Box 11952, Minneapolis MN 55411 or send an e-mail to Borscht@PeterOstroushko.com.