Fresh Chives. (I got a pound of 'em!)

Cafe Society
1

So, being a household of one, give me some ideas for using up a pound of fresh chives. (I got fresh basil too, about two bigs sprigs a day.)

So far I put chives in my chicken penne with basil and tomato. It was good.

I also added it to my Kimche soup, and in my sardine and avocado salad. Put a bit in an omelette.

I need more recipes.

Also, can I freeze them? I guess I could just toss them when they get slimy, but . . . well, I hate wasting something that used to cost me so much.

Tris

2

A pound is a hell of a lot of chives. And they stink like hell when they go off. I don’t know, but I doubt they’d freeze at all well.

Suggestions:

Eggs: snipped, on top of hard-boiled or scrambled.
Smoked fish: snipped as is, or in a little sour cream.
Boiled potatoes, potato salad.
Tomato, olive oil and goat’s cheese salad.
Seafood: chive butter on scallops, crayfish etc.
Chinese prawn/ pork dumplings.
Vietnamese rice paper rolls.

3

Chives freeze quite well, actually. Cut them up, put them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or plastic wrap, then spread out the cut chives on it and freeze. Once frozen, put them in an airtight container/ziploc and enjoy at your leisure.

Another way to use them is to mix them into cream cheese.

4

Yes, they freeze beautifully! Lay them out on a cookie sheet or two. You don’t need a single layer, but the more spread out the better. Freeze em, and then you can bundle them up like firewood and stick ‘em in a freezer bag. They will lose their firmness, so they’re best used in dishes like soups and pastas where you don’t care that they’re not pretty little round rings anymore. They’re also great in rice pilaf and couscous - along with parsley, they’re my go-to herb to make things LOOK like they’re freshly made and chock full o’ herby goodness even if they’re from a box. Little green flecks have an amazing effect on the psyche.

5

I am gonna make up a quarter pound of chive butter, tonight! Hadn’t thought of that.

And a bunch to freeze.

And just start sprinkling the fresh ones over things, too.

I have been to habitual!

That’s not news, though.

Thanks all.

Tris

6

Put a cup of your best olive oil in the blender, add a generous handful of chives, and blend until chives are pureed. Add just a dash of salt, to brighten the chive flavor. Pour into bowl and let stand half an hour while flavors combine. Then pass the mix through a coffee filter set in a fine strainer.

(If you want to improve the color, before you do the above, bring a small pot of water to a fast boil and blanch the chives for a few seconds, then remove with slotted spoon or spider and plunge into ice bath. Then proceed as above. Not absolutely necessary but does add something.)

You can use the chive oil to do all kinds of things: mix with something tart (lemon juice or vinegar, say) plus a dash of dried mustard for emulsifying along with salt and pepper to taste = good salad dressing. Or you can drizzle the oil as-is over the top of pretty much any thick soup. Or you can mix it into mashed potatoes (reduce the amount of butter you add). It’s also really good over fish.