Humble Herbs: In Praise of Parsley

It's easy to write parsley off. Parsley is just the requisite garnish that decorates plates at fancy restaurants. In our own cooking, we tend to pass over parsley in favor of herbs with bolder, bigger flavors. But a few recipes we've made this summer have started to change our mind!

No, parsley doesn't have the forward flavor of dill or tarragon, the delicacy of chervil, or even the controversial pungency of cilantro. But as we've chopped up big bunches of parsley to use in our recipes for Baked Falafel, Eggplant Caviar, and Tabbouleh, we've really started to appreciate what this herb adds to our dishes.

The the flat and curly leafed varieties of parsley have a green, almost lemony flavor. It perks up salads and vegetable dishes without stealing the show or overpowering other flavors. It also stays fresh-tasting even after sitting out on a buffet table for several hours. We don't think the flavor holds up well to heat or long cooking, so we like to add parsley just before serving.

Its leaves are less tender than its cousin chervil, and the stems can be woody. We generally only use the leaves in our fresh preparations, chopping them finely before adding them in. The stems still have a lot of flavor. Even if we don't necessarily like chewing on them, we can save them for flavoring soups and stock.

What do you think of parsley? Do you use it a lot in your cooking?

(Image: Flickr member Kelley Mari licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (10)

Flat-leaf parsley is my go-to, goes-in-everything herb. Mainly because it keeps so well, so I always have a bunch in the refrigerator. Plus, because it's not too bold it just seems to go with everything, so it's a handy default to have around. I cook regularly, but mostly pretty simply, and we're only two people, so I find other herbs tend to go bad before I even come close to using them up. So I really only buy other herbs if I have a specific recipe planned in advanced. For day-to-day cooking, I throw chopped parsely in at the end of practically everything, and I think its fresh "greenness" always improves the taste (and look)!

Parsley and spinach in a salad or pasta dish is my go to combination. The mild flavors of both seem to compliment each other nicely, especially with tomato.

Also, parsley actually makes a wonderful pesto. I do half and half arugula and parsley with lots of lemon, walnuts, and no cheese. I put parsley in all of my pasta, but this has a special umph.

Lately I've been using it a lot in everything. In tabbouleh; pasta with tuna, tomatoes and parsley; egg salad; salmon burgers; fish with sherry vinegar, capers and parsley; salads; pesto.

I don't know why I never realized how good it is - it's been a good recent discovery.

I actually have some parsley sitting in my refrigerator - I bought it for a specific Moroccan potato salad (boiled new potatoes, white vinegar, red onion, olive oil and parsley) this past weekend. We don't usually keep fresh herbs around simply because it's only my husband and I cooking.

However, I have been tossing the parsley into anything and everything that seems appropriate, from eggs to salads. It seems to keep best in the fridge, stems submerged in a glass of water with the bag over it, creating a mini greenhouse of sorts.

I miss parsley. As a breastfeeding mom, I found out the hard way that it diminishes supply. Luckily, after foregoing the particularly parsley-laden dish I'd been eating a lot, my supply returned to mostly the previous level.

Parsley can really stand out and make a huge difference to a dish if you let it shine as the only fresh herb in the dish. For instance, i love putting a big handful of chopped parsley into spaghetti carbonara, and parsley is of course the essential herb added to both the dumplings and the mushroom sauce in Pfifferlinge mit Semmelknödel!

Curly parsley was always the decoration on my plate when I was a little kid and used to go to this cafe with my mum. It always tasted like it was made of plastic. Still not the biggest fan unless its cut up really really tiny.

My greengrocer offers a free bunch of parsley when you shop. As a bunch of parsley costs at least 1€ in other outlets its a bonus when my own patch is not producing. I've told my family I want parsley on my grave.

i think the reason parsley has a bad reputation is because most people use the flavourless decorative curly parsley (like bkk's childhood nemesis). if you get the flat leaf, it's delicious. in polish cooking (or at least at our house) it was normal to chop up vast quantities of flat leaf parsley and dill and toss it on potatoes, soup, pretty much anything, even open face sandwiches.