Recipes

Minty Green Zhoug

Zhoug is a bold, herbal green sauce with roots in Yemen — spicier than chimichurri, with less acid and a lot more kick. It works on just about everything: grilled meats, poultry, fish, vegetables. Adding mint brings brightness that cuts through rich cuts like lamb, making this version especially well-suited for the grill.

By Stephanie Banyas, Culinary Experience Manager

Ingredients

Directions

2 tightly packed cups fresh cilantro (if you are not a fan of cilantro, you can use a mixture of parsley and mint (about 2 bunches, mostly leaves but skinny stems are ok) (if you are not a fan of cilantro, you can substitute flat leaf parsley leaves)
¼ cup packed fresh mint leaves
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 or 2 serrano chiles, depending on your spice level, stemmed and seeded and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of red pepper flakes
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons Diamond crystal kosher salt

Combine the cilantro, mint, garlic, serrano, cardamom, cumin, red pepper flakes and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to coarsely chop. With the motor running, stream in the oil and process until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. The zhoug can be made and stored in the refrigerator tightly covered up to 2 days in advance. Bring to room temperature before serving.