Recipe Time: Zhoug

One of my favorite moments with clients is when they realize food can both taste amazing and nurture health, too.

Zhoug is a perfect case in point. A Yemeni sauce of herbs, spices and more herbs (+ garlic & salt 😋), Zhoug brightens up any protein or side dish. Plus, it’s so dang easy to make.

I’ve adapted my recipe from The Cook You Want to Be, by Andy Baraghani.

I first tried Zhoug with our friends Jen and Kevin, who live in Eagle, Colo. Kevin served Zhoug with a savory slow-cooked beef and polenta dish. Delicious! And the recipe (below) makes plenty. It was just as tasty with eggs the next morning.

You can adjust ingredient proportions based how much heat you like or which herbs you have on hand. I pump up the garlic and go lighter on mint. (A decade ago, I threw a huge handful of fresh mint leaves into a smoothie. Big mistake. I then spent a hot and nauseated July afternoon watching the Rockies lose. It took me years to look at my mint plant, let alone pick a few leaves for iced tea.)   

Once blended, the recipe produces about 1 cup of sauce. So each spoonful packs a hefty dose of nutrients, including vitamins C, E, K and carotenoids (precursors to vitamin A), and small amounts of many other vitamins and minerals. Zhoug also is loaded with polyphenols, small but mighty compounds that are antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and have anti-cancer properties.

Flavor and nutrition — let’s go Zhoug!

Zhoug

Adapted from Andy Baraghani, The Cook You Want to Be

Ingredients

• 1 garlic clove

• sea or kosher salt to taste

• 2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, finally chopped

• ½ C finely chopped fresh parsley

• ¼ C finely chopped cilantro

• 2 T finely chopped fresh mint

• 1 tsp. ground coriander

• 1 tsp. ground cumin

• ¼ C extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Instructions from Andy

“In a mortar and pestle*, pound the garlic a few times. Add a pinch of salt, then continue to mash the garlic until in turns into paste.

Add the chiles and keep mashing until they have mostly broken down and your paste has taken on a greenish hue. Add the parsley and mint and get into the groove, mashing and stirring, back and forth until the herbs have bruised and slightly darkened. Stir in the coriander, cumin, olive oil and lemon juice to get a thick green paste, then season with salt. Get a taste by dipping your pinky into the sauce. Wait 15 min. and taste again. See how the flavor transformed? Patience. Use the zhoug soon after you make it.”

*Note from Kelly: The traditional preparation is said to have more flavor. If time is short, try using a food processor. Just don’t tell Andy!