Why I'm happy when my cilantro bolts

I used to morn when my cilantro bolted. No more leaves to harvest, just big clusters of not particularly showy flowers.  Then I learned about green coriander seeds.

L to R: Cilantro, green coriander, mature coriander

Cilantro and Coriander are different names for the same plant. When we harvest the leaves, we call it cilantro. When we harvest the mature seeds, we call the coriander. The flavors of the two are both delicious, and quite different. But there is a magical in-between time when the seeds have started to develop, but are still immature: green coriander. I'd heard someone you could eat them at that stage, so last year I took a nibble.

Wow.

Think cilantro, but some sort of wonderful perfected and glorified cilantro with a lemony almost fruity flavor to it, what cilantro wishes it was but never quite is. In short, I basically don't harvest cilantro leaves any more. I plant it, and wait eagerly for it to bolt, so I can harvest these little nuggets of happiness. Pick them when they are little plump green balls, but before they start to turn brown and toughen. The plant will produce for a surprisingly long time, a couple months for me, if I keep them harvested. I'm careful, however, to never harvest them all, because left to their own devices, they'll self-sow, providing me wonderful flavor every year with essentially no work.

Green coriander is great in anything you'd put cilantro in. It is wonderful with beans, tomatoes (salsa!), and almost anything involving lemon or bacon. Try it in your favorite pasta or potato salad for instant happiness.