20 Recipes for Mint Lovers
Pea Tortilla with Mint and Yogurt
A Spanish tortilla is like a frittata. Francis Mallmann makes a lovely version with yogurt, fresh mint and sweet peas, baked in an oven (preferably a wood-fired oven) until just set. It's delicious served warm or at room temperature.
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Minty Green Olive-Celery Salsa
Chef Tim Cushman's bright, briny salsa, full of vitamin E–rich olives, is more like a crunchy tapenade. It's delicious over white fish like hake.
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Mint Pesto
Mint and lamb are a classic pairing. Grace Parisi riffs on the match by kneading mint pesto into ground lamb, grilling the patties, then crumbling them into an orzo-and-feta-salad.
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Penne with Swordfish, Mint, and Pine Nuts
In this Sicilian dish, pasta, pine nuts, and chunks of swordfish are tossed in mint-spiked olive oil, with more fresh mint thrown in at the end. The combination is irresistible.
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Watermelon Salad with Mint and Lime
Matt Neal calls this supremely simple fruit salad the ultimate refresher on a hot day. For a grown-up version, he adds splashes of rum. "It's even more satisfying, then," he jokes.
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Mint Tea
Hot mint tea is a favorite in Morocco, where it’s served in small glasses any time of day or night. It’s very sweet and packed with mint flavor. We love it cold as well; let the tea cool completely and then strain it into ice-filled glasses.
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Butter Bean Salad with Lime and Mint
The secret to this delicate and refreshing butter bean salad is the dressing, made with cold, tangy buttermilk, olive oil and lime juice. The Lees call it "the flavors of a Southern summer."
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Vermicelli with Chicken Skewers and Nuoc Cham
The high acidity, citrus and mineral flavors, and slight sweetness of a German Riesling are the perfect foils for the sweet and savory taste of this dish.
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Roasted Zucchini with Ricotta and Mint
Flavored with fennel and cumin seeds, this quick side dish (or vegetarian main course) has a fun Indian flavor. While chef Sheamus Feeley likes to add pequin peppers, any chile flakes work well.
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Olive-Mint Pesto Meatballs with Fettuccine
Some cooks are surprised when F&W's Grace Parisi tells them she mixes pesto into meatballs to add flavor quickly. If you're pressed for time, good store-bought pesto works too.
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Spicy Brussels Sprouts with Mint
The key to the dish is to almost burn the brussels sprouts; the charred flavor is irresistible.
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Kyoto No. 2
England's Fever-Tree tonic water (available in U.S. grocery and specialty stores) has a refreshing astringency that makes it Angus Winchester's choice for this tangy, mint-infused drink.
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Spring Peas with Mint
Pairing Suggestion: Vinegary dishes and wine can be a terrible combination. But the sharp chopped red onion Mark Ladner tosses with these tangy peas makes the recipe delicious with a lightly tannic red.
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Mint Ice Cream
This exceptionally creamy ice cream relies on two unexpected ingredients: corn starch (to help thicken it) and cream cheese (to make it scoopable).
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Minty Salsa Verde
This mint-infused salsa verde from chef April Bloomfield gets a delicious briny hit from salted anchovies, making this an excellent accompaniment to juicy roast lamb.
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Grilled Figs with Ham, Walnuts, and Mint Cream
This appetizer, ripe figs are stuffed with walnuts, wrapped in ham and kissed on the grill. It's a riff on devils on horseback inspired by the late, great cookbook author Richard Olney’s love of seasonal ingredients.
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Mint and Pea Soup
Mint gives this soup a wonderfully fresh taste, and it makes a perfect lunch with some bread and cheese on the side.
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Thin Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Feta, and Mint
For a weeknight when speed is key, whip up this one-pot pasta. Whole cherry tomatoes, briny olives, salty feta cheese, and fresh mint and oregano, and make a Greek-inspired and satisfying meal for a summer evening with very little effort.
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Masala Grilled Vegetables with Spicy Mint Chutney
Grilled summer produce meets a chile-spiked herb dressing in this recipe. Using a blender or food processor to prepare this sauce safeguards the colors by instantly cutting and coating the herbs with oil, locking in the green.
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Fresh Mint Stracciatella Semifreddo
Fistfuls of fresh mint are steeped in the custard base of this semifreddo; a slow simmer releases the herb’s oils into the base without leeching any color.