Moroccan Herb Jam
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1½ pounds various greens and herbs (like chard, kale, broccoli rabe, dill, marjoram, parsley, cilantro, celery tops and scallions, and outer leaves of lettuce or similar greens)
- 6large cloves garlic, unpeeled
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2small hot red chiles (dried) or a pinch of crushed red pepper
- Salt
- 1½ tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted in a dry pan until fragrant, then ground
- ¼cup roughly chopped pitted black olives, such as Kalamata, or oil-cured
- Pinch of pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)
- Lemon, for final seasoning
- Pita or flatbread, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Put the greens and herbs and garlic cloves all together in a large steamer set over medium-high heat, and steam until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. (If you don’t have a steamer, use a large, deep skillet with a lid. Put 2 inches of water in bottom of pan, add greens, cover and cook at a brisk simmer.)
- Step 2
Set the garlic aside. Drain greens, let cool and squeeze out moisture; pick out the tougher herb stems if necessary. Put greens and herbs on a cutting board and chop very finely with a large knife.
- Step 3
Put 4 tablespoons olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chiles and let them sizzle without browning (or use a pinch of crushed red pepper), then add the chopped greens, a pinch of salt and half the cumin seeds. The flavor is concentrated by cooking most of the moisture out of the greens; this will take about 10 to 15 minutes. (Stir the herb jam mixture often as the water evaporates; it will want to stick.)
- Step 4
Turn the heat off but leave the mixture in the pan. Peel the steamed garlic and mash it into the pan along with the olives. Mix everything and taste; add salt as needed, a good splash of olive oil, the pimentón and more cumin to taste. The herb jam should be highly seasoned. Add more chile if it isn’t spicy enough. Just before serving, add a squeeze of lemon. Spread on toasted pita or flatbread if desired. The herb jam can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for about 5 days.
Private Notes
Comments
Pedantry really serves no purpose.
But perhaps you do not know who Paula Wolfert is. She has earned a position of respect, equivalent to that of Elizabeth David, Richard Olney, or Julia Child.
The contemporary food world is replete with creative or playful application of traditional terms to different ingredients (cilantro pesto) or techniques (confit tomatoes) to extend the aim of enhancing flavor or texture.
I made it with a bag of mixed chopped greens from Trader J's, a generous bunch of curly parsley, about 9 green onions, ...pitted kalamata olives. I used about half the recommended cumin, and maybe a 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper.
I love it. It's like spanakopita and dolmades, to me. Almost a cooked pesto. "Herb Jam" works for me. Next I will make it with fresh mint and dill, + parsley and green onions, mixed greens, etc. My batch came out to be about 2 cups.
"Ms. Wolfert calls this traditional savory spread made of wild-foraged leaves an herb jam. The term refers to the somewhat time-consuming cooking-down process. It is a jam in the sense that stewed onions are sometimes called marmalade."
Second time making this. The first time it was delicious but I found it hard to spread. Granted, perhaps I couldn't chop the greens finely enough, especially the stringier ones, to create spreadability. This time I used an immersion blender to create more of a pesto-like texture. Same great flavor!
This recipe is so adaptable! I’ve made it as written (cutting back on the spice), but used Herbes de Provence instead of cumin, added fennel fronds to the greens, and . I’m not a Francophile, but I thought the cumin would clash with my other dishes. I look forward to experimenting further!
This is such a great recipe for using up those leaves of kale and spinach, beet greens, celery leaves, cilantro and parsley in the fridge that need to be used ASAP. Delicious.