What can I do with fresh mint?

[supernova]

We started some potted veggies and herbs a week + ago and the mint I think is ready to be harvested a little.

I know you can make
tea
tabouli

I was thinking possibly a sorbet or granita.

:shrug:

What else?

[cbayer]

1. If you drink, Mojitos are fantastic. If you don't, you can make a great sauce for lamb.

I also use it in iced tea (sun tea), salads and tzatziki.

I love mint!

Enjoy.

:Hi:

[supernova]

2. I might try the mint in rum

but I'm not a fan of sweet drinks.

Thanks.

[japple]

3. Pour boiling water over and let steep for a few minutes.

After it has cooled,put in a spray bottle and spritz yourself whenever you need cooling off. I like it in hot tea, cold tea, and ginger ale. I have a bed of the stuff and sometimes use it in flower arrangements.

[supernova]

9. Both these ideas sound really good

love ginger ale and the mint spritzer sounds loverly. Esp since my a/c is not functioning at the moment. Ugh.

[kestrel91316]

4. If you had lots, I'd suggest putting up some mint jelly.

[supernova]

10. I might still

the summer isn't over yet! :D

And mint jelly is lush.

[Warpy]

5. If it's spearmint, then think tabbouli

If it's peppermint, think juleps and peppermint teas.

[grasswire]

6. picado de rabano

Guatemalan radish salad:

4 to 6 servings

Radishes, trimmed and sliced into thin rounds -- 1 pound
Mint, finely chopped -- 1/4 cup
Orange juice -- 1/2 cup
Lemon juice -- 1/4 cup
Salt and pepper -- to taste

Mix all together the ingredients together in a bowl and chill well before serving.

[supernova]

11. 2nd time I've seen

the mention of mint and radishes together.

Is this a particularly latin thing?

[wildeyed]

7. fantastic added to smoothies.

Makes a really fresh taste. Think I'll go make one now. My mint is growing, too :)

[supernova]

12. Hrmm. I have some unsweetened acai

berries in the freezer for smoothies. I wonder if mint and acai berries go together?

[The empressof all]

8. I have a large patch of it too

I'm not a big fan of it. I will use it in the occasional mojito and use just a bit if I make Tabouleh. I like to add it to my bath in the summer and it's great to steep in a bucket and soak your feet or rinse your hair with it. I like that idea of putting it in a mister....I'll try that this year.

[supernova]

13. A foot soak

No there's an idea.

[Arkansas Granny]

14. According to folk lore around this part of the state, it was customary

for women living back in the hills to have mint growing around the front of the cabin. When they heard someone coming up the trail, they would take the broom and brush it across the mint plants to scent the air and make things pleasant for their company.

[Warpy]

20. That's a much better idea than those chemical plug in things

and I'll bet it smelled a lot better, too.

[book lady]

15. tomato sauce

I use mint, homegrown tomatos, salt and pepper to make a tomato sauce for pasta during the summer...

[beac]

16. It's good diced fine and sprinkled over spring peas (add a little butter, if you like.)

Here's one I bookmarked, but haven't tried yet:

Roasted Parsnips with Mint and Sage
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Parsnips-with-Mint-and-Sage/Detail.aspx


I love roasted parsnips and the addition of honey, garlic and herbs sounded interesting.

[Retrograde]

17. Indian mint relish

put in a blender or food processor:

3 cups mint leaves
a serano chile or three, depending on how hot you like it
about a tablespoon of ginger
a small onion
juice of one lemon
a pinch of sugar

let it rip until you have a paste a little chunkier than fresh pesto


Cold cucumber, yougurt and mint soup is good in summer. And there are always mint juleps!

I'm going to need more suggestions myself: my mint patch is expanding rapidly after dying back to the roots this past winter.

[grasswire]

18. that looks delicious

how would you serve that? like a chutney?

[supernova]

19. Ditto on the delish

That looks wonderful.

And I like the cold cucumber soup idea too.

[grasswire]

21. tonight's salad

...made from a recipe in Martha Stewart's little cooking magazine.

1/2 pound fresh sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut in thirds
1 large english cucumber, thinly sliced (peel if you wish)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

dressing: 1 T olive oil, 2 tsp white wine vinegar (I used red), 1 T dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste

Very easy. I liked the dressing with the mint particularly.

[NJCher]

22. here's an article on the topic

Good article with many intriguing ideas:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/seasonal-food-and-drink/7715295/How-to-use-mint-in-your-menu-Bee-Wilson.html

How to use mint in your menu

snip:

Mint is surprising, too. There are few other herbs that run the gamut of different cuisines quite so easily. Mint can be British (mint sauce) or Vietnamese (pho); it can be Indian (mint chutney) or American (mint juleps).

He notes that, 'Mint is used in almost every Thai salad, but with discretion. Its fresh menthol flavour cools and refreshes.' (There will be minty Thai things on offer in London as part of a Thai festival in Trafalgar Square on 5 June.) I especially love the Thai salad nahm dtok, made from grilled meat, ground roasted rice, lime juice, fish sauce and fresh mint and coriander leaves. The mint offsets the salt of the meat and the fish sauce.

You can make the most ordinary pasta and tomato sauce taste sensationally different and summer holiday-ish by adding a large handful of mint, chopped together with raw garlic and capers (even if you end up eating it on a British patio rather than a piazza in Palermo).

And then there's tea. If your normal brew is from a bag, prepare to be amazed by fresh mint tea. It comes out yellow, not the usual murky brown, and smells heavenly.

snip

Personally, I like to cut mint, wash it, then put it in a crock pot and let it simmer overnight. It makes the house aromatic. The next morning, I remove the mint leaves, squeeze the tea out of them, and put the spent leaves in the compost pile. I let the tea go to room temp and then refrigerate it.

Well, excuse me. I must be running along to the mint patch. :)


Cher

[randr]

23. I mince mint for potato salad

[Gormy Cuss]

24. Use leaves whole in a Greek salad (just a few mixed in with the lettuce.)

Blend mint with garlic, parsley, lemon juice and oil and use this mix as a marinade for lamb, chicken, or vegetables (particularly summer squashes and eggplant.)

As another poster's link mentioned, mint is a good addition to Thai (or Vietnamese) foods, particularly salads.

In cooked dishes the mint flavor will be more pronounced if you add it towards the end of cooking.