Put Your Paws Together for PAPALO

Neglected outside of Bolivia and southern Mexico, papalo is often referred to by its charming colloquial name of "Buzzard's Breath", a moniker appropriate to those turned off by its powerful scent - a fragrance almost foreign to our nose and lacking any comparison. Ok we'll try to describe: top floral notes include cilantro and pine, with undertones of charred wood and chervil.

Once we heard Bolivians eat the leaves daily to protect against liver ailments, Cafe Drake snagged a giant bunch from the Williamsburg/Greenpoint Farmer's Market, hoping to erase the damage of so many summer night cocktail parties.

A few cookbooks suggest substituting papalo for cilantro in any recipe, but given the latter's gentle flavor and the former's potent acerbity, Cafe Drake suggests NOT. Rather, we constructed a blended and roasted tomato and chile salsa, a bit thick with oil and zippy with an acidic vinegar base, that complements papilo nicely but stands up to the assertive herb.

Perhaps it's an acquired taste, but after 10 minutes of lapping up this sauce over a filet of baked monk fish (after dipping with tortilla chips an hour prior), Cafe Drake has been bitten by the buzzard and is a new fan of all things papilo. Try chopped finely in scrambled eggs or sprinkled over marinated flank steak.

ROASTED SALSA WITH PAPALO

Throw a few sliced red onions, garlic cloves and green chiles of your choice in a VERY HOT and DRY iron skillet. Turn over the veggies as they begin to blacken. Add 2 thickly sliced tomatoes and cook for 1-2 more minutes, being careful not to truly "cook" the tomatoes. Remove from heat and throw in a blender with 2 T or so apple cider vinegar, a drizzle of olive oil, some salt and 1 T. or more sugar. Add 6-8 papalo leaves and blend until chunky, cool completely, refrigerate for up to a week and serve with anything and everything.