An Excess of Parsley

[mizducky]

I too have thrown out way too many half-used half-slimed bunches of parsley, so I'm definitely finding this topic inspiring! In fact, I was moved to buy a bunch just now, with a mind to do something more creative with it than just the occasional couple of sprigs in a soup or stew. I do also use in in tabbouleh, but up to now it's only been a small amount--I need to try putting a lot more in the next time I make a batch of that.

I do also like to just munch on it plain, as-is.

[maggiethecat]

I do also like to just munch on it plain, as-is.

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Flashback to the summer of 1960. when my mother was pregnant with my sisters. Her pregnancy craving was parsley -- she'd go through three or four bunches a day. I'm thinking her diet must have been lacking something, but as reported upthread, parsley seems to cure what ails you.

[kbjesq]

I love parsley!  It's my favorite herb.

One great use of parsley is a variation of spaghetti aglio e olio.  Just add a fistful of finely minced parsley at the end (and, if you're me, a hefty pinch of crushed red pepper).

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It's my favorite, too. When I was in college, I had a roommate from Spain, who would buy 2-3 bunches of fresh parsley, chop coarsely (including the stems, which everyone always told me were bitter), saute in olive oil, douse libarally with hot sauce, and serve as a hot side dish. He claimed that this was a traditional side dish in Spain. I've never been to Spain, but authentic or not, it is extraordinarily delicious and sure surprises guests when you tell them that they are having parsley for dinner.

(I sometimes saute in butter instead of oil).

[maggiethecat]

It's my favorite, too.  When I was in college, I had a roommate from Spain, who would buy 2-3 bunches of fresh parsley, chop coarsely (including the stems, which  everyone always told me were bitter), saute in olive oil, douse libarally with hot sauce, and serve as a hot side dish.  He claimed that this was a traditional side dish in Spain.  I've never been to Spain, but authentic or not, it is extraordinarily delicious and sure surprises guests when you tell them that they are having parsley for dinner. 

(I sometimes saute in butter instead of oil).

Oh, this will appear on my menu this week. Please tell me what the texture of the parsley should be -- limp, crunchy, in between?

[kbjesq]

It's my favorite, too.  When I was in college, I had a roommate from Spain, who would buy 2-3 bunches of fresh parsley, chop coarsely (including the stems, which  everyone always told me were bitter), saute in olive oil, douse libarally with hot sauce, and serve as a hot side dish.  He claimed that this was a traditional side dish in Spain.  I've never been to Spain, but authentic or not, it is extraordinarily delicious and sure surprises guests when you tell them that they are having parsley for dinner.  

(I sometimes saute in butter instead of oil).

Oh, this will appear on my menu this week. Please tell me what the texture of the parsley should be -- limp, crunchy, in between?

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Well, hopefully someone with knowledge of the actual Spanish dish will chime in here, but when I make it, I like to cook the parsley over fairly high heat, briefly, so that the leaves are limp but there is still some crunchiness in the stems. It should remain bright green.

I always prepare it last, as it just takes a couple of minutes. I remember that my old roommate used Crystal hot sauce (or similar) and he used a whole lot of it! (I usually use sriracha)

Don't chop it up too small - maybe just 2 or 3 cuts per stem. Also, because it reduces so much when cooked, I usually buy at least one bunch per person (2 for me!)

[Dianabanana]

I've made this parsley soup a few times and it is a winner.

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As soon as I saw this thread topic I thought of this recipe, but ludja beat me to it! It's very good.

[cathrynapple]

I add parsley to all salads and most "western" sauces to finish. parsley and breadcrumb stuffed mushrooms and tomatoes use up a ton. and parsley butter to keep in the freezer for steaks and things.

[petite tête de chou]

I haven't made it yet but gormeh sabzi uses quite a bit of parsley and sounds delicious.

[dockhl]

Geez, I LOVE parsley ! I have a folder in my 'Salads" recipe folder devoted to parsley (PM me if you want a few)

I also love it deep fried and crunchy. Yum.

Here is a link to Fergus Henderson's

Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad

[birder53]

At least a cup of freshly chopped flat parsley goes into our favorite pasta dish - veggies, pasta, garlic, oil, lots of freshly ground red pepper flakes. We used to add the parsley to the oil just before tossing it with the pasta, but found it added a new dimension by going in raw at the end of the dish. It's fresh and crunchy. We rarely end up with slimy parsley, unless it wasn't in top shape to begin with. Can't wait to be able to get an herb garden going once the winter is done. We tried moving a pot of parsley into the house for the winter but the cats weren't kind to it.

Many years ago I shopped at a small produce market where the owner would ask what you wanted and pick out everything for you. I never got a bad piece of produce from him, so it was fine with me. I asked for parsley and pointed to the curly parsley. He asked if I was going to eat it or use it as garnish. He told me flat parsley was for eating. That's all I've ever used.

[phatj]

Alexander's Stew

[Chufi]

See also this parsley thread.. maybe they should be merged?

I've been making a lot of parsley salads lately. I pick the leaves from the stems, wash and dry them and add them to some other salad stuff, but with a ratio of parsley:other stuff about 2:1

[JimmyWu]

MEATBALLS... with egg, parm, bread crumb, onion, garlic, S & P

Jimmy

[djyee100]

I was flipping thru some old recipes last night and came across this one for dumplings in chicken soup:

Sift together 1 1/2 cups AP flour, 2 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt. Add in 2 TB minced fresh parsley and 1 TB minced chives. Combine with 3/4 cup milk. Drop by tablespoonfuls into the simmering soup and let cook 12-15 mins.

It's yummy.

[phatj]

Buttermilk Ranch Mashed Potatoes, adapted from a recipe in Cook's Illustrated -- I make it with at least double the parsley called for.

Whisk together room temperature buttermilk and melted butter, then stir in a bunch of minced parsley, thinly-sliced scallions, minced garlic, and a bit of black pepper. Fold into slightly-cooled mashed potatoes.

[maggiethecat]

I found this recipe, Italian Winter Herb Pasta, while cruising epicurious.com for other reasons. I printed it out because it had a high parsley content (one cup) and I had the thyme and rosemary growing on my windowsill, and the noble sage still soft and alive through the snowdrifts. I'm also partial to buttered, garlicky toasted breadcrumbs.

At first bite it was "Oh, too herbal --maybe too much rosemary." On fifth bite I was regretting we hadn't made more. The pic doesn't show how much parsley laid down its life in this bowl, but it was lots. I'm bursting with health.

[baroness]

I have a large bunch of Italian/flat-leaf parsley residing in a mug with a little water on my coolish kitchen counter, like a bouquet. Today, what is left celebrates its 1-week anniversary with me and is still fresh and crisp. This is an experiment (vs. placing the mug in the refrigerator as usual) which has very happy results!

[Carlovski]

There is a recipe for Parsley and Gin soup in the late Jeremy Round's 'The Independent Cook' - I quite fancy giving it a go, but it strikes me as bit in the 'amuse bouche' mould, which isn't really me. Perhaps if I take it as a bloody mary substitute....

I think he nicked the recipe from a New Orleans chef (If I remember right it has onion,green pepper and celery in it as well)

[hathor]

Don't throw those stems away! I use them as a base for poaching fish or shrimp.

Recipe here.

[helenjp]

Parsley makes good tempura too. Replace a good proportion of the flour with cornflour, to maximize crispiness. However, if you use 100% cornflour, the finished tempura is so brittle that it shatters if you happen to drop it !

[maggiethecat]

There is a recipe for Parsley and Gin soup in the late Jeremy Round's 'The Independent Cook' - I quite fancy giving it a go,

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Please take one for the team, give it a go, and report back, Parsley and gin -- that sounds like herbal overdose, but how could it be bad?l

Helen, i love all things tempura, and that's a terrific idea..

I'll buy more parsley tomorrow.

[Magictofu]

I harvested half of the parsley growing in my garden because we had to do some renovation in the backyard. I have so much of it that there is no way it can fit in the fridge. Apart from giving it all away to friends and colleagues and making a few parsley salads, is there a way to avoid wasting it?

So far I have been thinking about:

1) Making some sort of parsley pesto

2) Pureeing it and freezing the mixture to add to stews and dishes later during the year

3) Extracting the chlorophyl to color pasta, mashed potatoes and other dishes

Any other ideas?

[HKDave]

I regularly freeze chopped parsley, although I haven't tried keeping it for longer than a couple months this way. Remove stems (and freeze these, too, for future bouquet garnis etc), chiffonade the tops, spread them on sheet pans and semi-dry uncovered in the fridge for a day or two. Then transfer to snap-top storage thingies, loosely packed, and freeze.

It's not 100% as good as fresh (I wouldn't use it in a tabouleh), but it's infinitely better than dried and is fine for garnish or in anything cooked. The trick is to use it frozen; take it out of the freezer just before you want to use it and put it back in right away. It thaws very fast and if it gets thawed/refrozen a few times, it gets mushy.

Another possibility would be to make parsley oil. Start with about 4 parts parsley to 1 part oil by volume. Blanch and shock parsley, dry very well, puree, add oil, puree. Use neutral oil - grapeseed if you're fancy, canola if you're me. Fridge 12hr. Let it come back to room temp and strain through cheesecloth, or maybe a coffee filter if any particles are getting through (this will take a while...). Keeps in the fridge in a glass bottle for at least a couple of months. Don't keep at room temp.

You can also use the same technique for other herb oils (rosemary etc), most of which benefit from having 50% parsley in them for colour.

[jackal10]

Freeze packed in an ice cube tray wih water to make parsley cubes

[kayswv]

The September issue of Gourmet has a recipe for Creamed Parsley based upon a recipe from Spring Restaurant in Paris that uses 12 cups of parsley. Sounds worth trying for something new and different.

Kay