Everyone knows a coriander hater who won’t go near the stuff and describes its taste as “soapy” (some studies suggest there may be a gene that causes this). Itamar Srulovich, however, is not one of them: “I adore fresh coriander, and always have,” says the chef/co-owner of the Honey & Co group of restaurants, cafes and delis in London. “In Israel, and indeed in any of the coriander countries, if you go into someone’s house and there’s a bunch of coriander in the kitchen, you really know about it – it’s so potent. What we get in the UK is so tame by comparison, so when people say they can’t stand its strong smell and taste, I often think: what are you even talking about?”
Tame or not, when it comes to coriander substitutions, it all depends on what you’re making. If you’re using the fresh herb as a garnish, say, you could obviously just ditch it and call it a day, although, granted, you’d then miss that hit of freshness. Srulovich suggests looking at other soft herbs: “They’re often quite interchangeable, so if you’re told to finish something with chopped coriander, parsley will do pretty much the same job and bring that essential brightness.” If, however, you’re making something that’s highly spiced or seasoned, or that features lots of garlic, you might find parsley “a bit too polite”, in which case Thai basil, chervil or a mix of the two might make a good replacement: “You want something with a bit of funk.”
