Cardamom-Kissed Schug

One of Yemen’s greatest contributions to Israeli cuisine, schug (see photo on this page) is a riot of tender green herbs, dried spices, and fresh hot chilies blended into an incredibly versatile condiment that is a must smeared inside a falafel sandwich or on my Schug-Marinated Baby Lamb Chops. Almost twenty years ago my friend Gil Hovav, who is half Yemenite, first let me in on the genius idea of adding cardamom, and it’s been my ace in the hole ever since. Chilies can really vary in their spiciness; really hot ones will yield a three-alarm schug, but after a day or two in the fridge the heat begins to mellow slightly. Some schugs contain a lot of oil, but this one is almost all veg and spice. The small amount of oil in the recipe (not to mention a bit of lemon juice) helps the schug preserve its color and last longer, especially before it’s broken into for the first time. Don’t worry; even if the schug darkens in the jar, and though it may fade in flavor slightly, it’s still good for up to a month.

Makes 2 cups

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

2 cups tightly packed fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems

2 cups tightly packed fresh parsley, leaves and tender stems

20 garlic cloves (about ⅔ cup)

10 to 12 medium jalapeños (about 6 ounces) or 6 to 8 medium serrano peppers, stemmed and coarsely chopped but not seeded

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to cover

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cilantro, parsley, garlic, jalapeños, salt, cumin, cardamom, black pepper, and lemon juice and pulse 15 to 20 times, then process until smooth, about 1 minute, stopping and scraping down the bowl once if necessary. The mixture may seem a bit pulpy at first, but it will come together. If you need to, add water by the tablespoonful to get the contents of the processor running. Drizzle in the olive oil and pulse very briefly. Transfer the schug to one 2-cup jar with a tight-fitting lid (or two 1-cup jars with tight-fitting lids) and cover with a very thin slick of olive oil. Stored in the refrigerator, schug lasts for up to 1 month.