Fresh herbs bring color, flavor, and freshness to any dish. However, when your recipe just calls for a handful, you might be left with a huge bundle of leaves without many ideas of what to do with them.
Here are a few ways to use up fresh herbs and avoid throwing away any more green goodness!
Make Herb Oil
Herb oil is great because you can use all sorts of combinations of soft herbs to use EVERYTHING up and get super fresh, verdant flavors. Simply blanche your herbs for a few seconds before submerging in ice water, blend them with olive oil and then sieve the mixture through a muslin cloth over a few hours. You’ll be left with emerald green oil that is delicious, versatile and can be kept for a week or two.
Make Pesto, Zhug, Salsa, or Chimichurri
Most cuisines have some kind of chopped or blended herby dip that can add fresh flavor and spice to any dish. Experiment with homemade pesto, Middle Eastern zhug, Mexican salsa, or Argentinian chimichurri and travel the world with your herby leftovers!
Make a Kuku Sabzi (Persian Herb Fritatta)
This delicious Persian recipe is for when you have TONs of herbs crying out to be used up (we’re talking pounds!). Kuku sabzi is packed with green goodness and, when topped with walnuts and cranberries, makes a beautiful dinner party center-piece.
Freeze Them
If you don’t have the energy to transform your herbs into something delicious, you can simply freeze them for future use. Washed, chopped herbs can be frozen in ice cubes to add fresh color and flavor to soups, stews and sauces.
