What can I do with Mint?

meritaten

my recipe for mint sauce
a handful of mint leaves - about 5 to 6 stalks
sugar
vinegar
a little hot water

take the leaves off the stalks and chop very finely until the mint goes very dark green and gets quite 'juicy'.
put into your jug or a glass with a teaspoon of sugar.
put about a teaspoon or so of very hot water (boiling if you want) and mix til sugar dissolves
add a few tablespoons of vinegar (malt is absolutely fine) until the sauce is nice consistency and not too runny.
if you can leave it an hour or so it develops a better flavour - but you can serve it immediately if pressed for time.

ALIBOBSY

We are a bit mint obsessed here lol. Sadly lost my pineapple mint in the frosts last year, but have garden mint, peppermint and spearmint at the mo. I use it a lot in all sorts of meals. We like it thinly shredded-I just roll up the leaves and trim with scissors in amongst salad leaves, you get a little minty hint every now and again as you eat the salad. Its a lot more subtle than it sounds lol. I use it in homemade potato salad alongside some snipped chives yum yum.

You can make a simply tea either use the fresh leaves or dried-bung in the tea pot and pour over boiling water, really refreshing.

Mint is a great herb to add to preserves when making, redcurrant and mint jelly, quince and mint jelly etc. etc.

You can store it frozen for later in the year or even dry it to store, there are various methods online.

I also like to add herbs to batters for pancakes and/or Yorkshire pudding mixes. Mint is great for sweet pancakes or to have yorkies with your lamb .

We like to sit in the garden (when we can lol)and chew on the leaves, yummy and refreshing.

My fav new herb this year is lemon basil which is unbelievably lemony and you get an amazing citrus smell as you waft past it-it also seems to grow far faster and bigger and more easily than the normal sweet basil.

God I am obsessed with herbs rofl.

Enjoy the mint, but never let it loose in open ground as it spreads like crazy and is virtually indestructible.

Ali x

jane_smith

Saw a quick Jamie Oliver tip that is great for mint. Add a handfull of fresh mint to a mortar & pestle along with a spoon of white sugar, grind like crazy until the mint has ground down, then keep adding sugar and grinding until the mixture is quite dry to the touch. Sprinkle the mint sugar over cut fruit - FANTASTIC on pineapple.

twofishes

Moroccan and Levantine (Lebanese/Turkish/Israeli etc) food will use loads of mint - add some to tagines (which freeze really well). Also make mint chutneys to have with curries.

jackyann

For as long as I remember, my family have made mint sauce this way:
chop the mint, pack into a glass jar (preferably one with a glass lid) and just cover with malt vinegar.
For mint sauce, you take a little out and add sugar & extra vinegar to taste.

The vinegar will "attack" a lot of the usual kinds of lids. I have kilner jars that I re-use. Otherwise, put a layer of greaseproof, or even cling film between the lid and the vinegar.

Also, any of these recipes make lovely gifts, or can be sold at fetes etc.

This_Year

Fresh mint + summer = mojitos

. http://www.food.com/recipe/mojito-cuban-mint-and-rum-cocktail-49310

seabright

Don't forget to keep pinching the tips of all the stalks on the mint plant, it will keep it bushy & looking nice.

I tend to munch on the leaves I pinch off; lovely fresh taste!

LameWolf

Raita.

Half a pint of natural yogurt, about 4 tablespoons of finely chopped cucumber, and one tablespoon of freshly chopped mint.

I first came across this stuff at an Indian restaurant, but Mr LW and I like it as a component of a summer salad.

Seakay

Apart from cocktails, mint leaves are nice added to apple juice, lemonade etc to add a little more interest and refresment

glitterkitty

How long does homemade mint sauce last?