Ingredient: Parsley
Category: Herbs, Spices & Seasoning
Season: All
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is a bright green, biennial herb, also used as spice.
It is very common in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking.
Parsley is used for its leaf in much the same way as coriander (which is also known as Chinese parsley or cilantro), although it has a milder flavour.
In South America it is known as perejil.
Varieties
Two forms of parsley are used as herbs : curly leaf and Italian, or flat leaf (P. neapolitanum).
Curly leaf parsley is often used as a garnish .
Many people think flat leaf parsley has a stronger flavour , and this opinion is backed by chemical analysis which finds much higher levels of essential oil in the flat-leaved cultivars One of the compounds of the essential oil is apiol.
The use of curly leaf parsley may be favoured by some , because it cannot be confused with poison hemlock, like flat leaf parsley or chervil.
Root parsley
Another type of parsley is grown as a root vegetable , as with hamburg root parsley.
This type of parsley produces much thicker roots than types cultivated for their leaves .
Llittle known in Britain and the United States, root parsley is very common in Central and Eastern European cuisine, where it is used in most soups or stews, it looks similar to parsnip it tastes quite different.
Parsnips are among the closest relatives of parsley in the umbellifer family of herbs , although the similarity of the names is a coincidence, parsnip meaning "forked turnip". It is not related to real turnips.
Culinary uses
In parts of Europe, and particularly in West Asia , many foods are served with chopped parsley sprinkled on top.
The fresh flavour of parsley goes extremely well with fish .
Parsley is a key ingredient in several West Asian salads , e.g., tabbouleh which is the national dish of Lebanon.
In Southern and Central Europe, parsley is part of bouquet garni , a bundle of fresh herbs used to flavor stocks, soups, and sauces. A
Parsley is often used as a garnish.
Persillade is mixture of chopped garlic and chopped parsley .
Gremolata is a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest. |