SpiceLines

Noxious leaf, or delectable herb? Your taste for cilantro may depend upon what you ate as a child, and, though the science isn't clear, on genetic predisposition.

Here's the question: Do you love cilantro, or do you hate it?.

In our house, there isn't a day that goes by when cilantro isn’t calling plaintively from the refrigerator. “That tabbouleh would be so much better with me instead of that boring parsley,” it whines. “And what about that chipotle chicken soup you’re making, or the pot of black beans simmering on the back burner? You know you want me!”

Yes, actually I do. There’s nothing like cilantro to lift the flavor of other ingredients. And besides, I love the taste and fragrance of its floppy foliage.

Right now the soft, fresh aroma of the leaf is conjuring up a big bowl of summertime pico de gallo. The tomatoes are bursting with ripe, fruity flavor, and the just-picked serrano chiles taste like sweet green peppers riddled with pockets of fiery heat. Add a handful or two of fresh cilantro—plus lime juice and chopped onion—and suddenly you have a succulent salsa that is the essence of deliciousness.

But maybe you’re not a cilantro lover. Julia Child despised it.

Crazy mixed-up tabbouleh is packed with zingy flavors, including Turkish urfa pepper, preserved lemon peel, sweet dried cherries and of course, lots and lots of cilantro.

If you don’t like cilantro, stop right here.

Do something fun. Like watching the French World Cup soccer team evade millions of delirious fans at Charles de Gaulle. (All four of them.) Or trying to figure out why your water bill is $15,056.15 this month. (Is that a misprint?)

But if you love cilantro, go right to the kitchen. It’s time to make “tabbouleh gone wild.”

Like ordinary packaged tabbouleh, this version is made with bulgur wheat, lemon juice, cucumbers and tomatoes. But wait.

Now toss the tasteless, dried up herbs that come in the box. In fact, toss the whole seasoning package. Add handfuls of fresh herbs from the garden: ruffled basil, cooling mint, Italian parsley and thyme leaves—a mixture, if you have it, of vibrant lemon, French and silver thymes. Now stir in a generous two cups of cilantro, chopped fine.

Yes, really.