This was a contest winner about a year ago, it is delicious. http://food52.com/recipes/18134-mint-pistachio-pesto I also agree with the mint julep suggestion.
I do this when I have too much mint growing: I cut it off and wash it. I lay it on a tea towel and let it dry for a few days. Once crisp dry.. I either blitz it in a food processor or rub it in between my hands to manually "grind" the mint. Then I jar it and have it on hand for any dish requiring mint or for cold or hot tea.
Make mint juleps! I like chopped mint in green salads, in place of or along with basil. Dill and mint make a good combination for seasoning ground meat--you could make meat balls or stuff vegetables with the mixture.
Someone asked the same question last year, and I posted the recipe below. It is still one of my favorite ways to use mint:
Mint, Horseradish and Pasta
The combination of ingredients sounds improbable, but it's delicious. The original recipe (long lost because you don't really need a recipe) came from Basilicata, Italy's southernmost region.
Onion
Garlic
Bacon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Horseradish
Mint
Freshly cooked pasta
Chop an onion, some garlic and a few slices of bacon. Fry the bacon in a heavy frying pan, remove the bacon bits but leave the fat in the pan. If necessary, and it most likely will be, add olive oil and then the onion. Fry until it becomes translucent, then add the garlic and fry a few seconds until fragrant. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.
Peel a hunk of horseradish and grate. Start with a tablespoon of horseradish if you are wary and adjust (upward) to taste.
Remove leaves from mint until you have a good handful or two. Chop coarsely.
Add the horseradish and mint to the onion mixture, cook until hot.
Toss with freshly-cooked pasta and top with grated pecorino or fine bread crumbs browned in olive oil.
Not sure if it was here or at Serious Eats, but someone posted the same dilemma about mint. Someone commented that she (?) would take a handful of mint and make a Thai-style pesto. Along with the mint, add unsalted roasted peanuts, fish sauce or soy sauce, lemon/lime juice, Thai basil,garlic, fresh chilis or chili sauce, oil. Add or subtract ingredients to your preferences. Blend until you get a paste. Toss with cooked noodles, use as a condiment for chicken, fish, beef, etc. The punch from the mint is fantastic and refreshing without being heavy like a traditional pesto.
We love mint in herb salads (mint, cilantro, bitter greens), spring rolls, rice or noodle bowls (rice or noodles topped with julienned vegetables, some kind of protein, and lots of herbs), herbed oils (finely chopped herbs, olive oil, salt, lemon zest), on sandwiches such as banh mi, in fruit salads, infused into a simple syrup for cocktails or homemade sodas, rubbed into sugar to make minty sugar, in fresh mint ice cream, chopped over new potatoes, carrots, or peas... Mint is so prolific that it's hard to keep up with, but just keep some in your kitchen all the time and it will work its way into your food.
A few of my favourite ways: Mint tea (http://food52.com/recipes/18109-moroccan-mint-tea); ahttp://food52.com/recipes/12532-spiced-simple-mango-slaw delicious condiment that's wonderful as a dip (mixed in with natural yogurt) or tossed with delicious fruit, mangoes being my favoured choice (http://food52.com/recipes/12532-spiced-simple-mango-slaw) and on its own in vietnamese/Cambodian rolls. Don't forget chopping it finely and tossing with strawberries and other summer berries. Or puree combined with other ingredients to make pastes, like a mint & spring onion pesto (http://www.kitchenbutterfly.com/how-to/make-pesto/) or a 'version of a green curry paste (http://www.kitchenbutterfly.com/how-to/make-thai-green-curry-paste/).
Mint and Cilantro are two herbs that I would hate to live without! So have fun....
A tabbouleh salad would be one way. Bulgar wheat, olive oil with lots of chopped mint and parsley. Mint is great with lamb and Greek dishes in general. A tzatzi saue would be another example
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http://joyofblending.com/cool-mint-pea-soup/
Someone asked the same question last year, and I posted the recipe below. It is still one of my favorite ways to use mint:
Mint, Horseradish and Pasta
The combination of ingredients sounds improbable, but it's delicious. The original recipe (long lost because you don't really need a recipe) came from Basilicata, Italy's southernmost region.
Onion
Garlic
Bacon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Horseradish
Mint
Freshly cooked pasta
Chop an onion, some garlic and a few slices of bacon. Fry the bacon in a heavy frying pan, remove the bacon bits but leave the fat in the pan. If necessary, and it most likely will be, add olive oil and then the onion. Fry until it becomes translucent, then add the garlic and fry a few seconds until fragrant. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.
Peel a hunk of horseradish and grate. Start with a tablespoon of horseradish if you are wary and adjust (upward) to taste.
Remove leaves from mint until you have a good handful or two. Chop coarsely.
Add the horseradish and mint to the onion mixture, cook until hot.
Toss with freshly-cooked pasta and top with grated pecorino or fine bread crumbs browned in olive oil.
Mint is so prolific that it's hard to keep up with, but just keep some in your kitchen all the time and it will work its way into your food.
Mint and Cilantro are two herbs that I would hate to live without! So have fun....
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