“What do I do with [insert unusual Green Aisle product here]” is a question we’re often posed by our lovely customers. In this new recurring blog feature, we tell you what up with all our weird edibles.
We just finished a clipping of the hoja santa plant sunning itself in our window and thought this might be a good time to expound upon the herb’s awesomeness. Root beer addicts will flip for these billiard-green, heart-shaped leaves; the notes of vanilla, licorice, mint and pepper combined with the presence of safrole (also found in sassafras bark) help this “holy leaf” earn its American handle, root beer plant.
In Central and South America, where the plant is indigenous, the leaves can grow bigger than size of your palm, making it a favored wrapper for steaming fish and tamales in Mexico. Our hoja santa petals are smaller but perfect for chopping up as you would any other herb. Stir it into guacamole or sprinkle on grilled ears of corn brushed with lime butter. Once this ungodly permafrost thaws, we can’t wait to transfer our hoja santa outside; when the warm weather hits, it’ll really explode, supplying us with a summer’s worth of holy leaf mojitos.
