Parsley: The All-Purpose Herb

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Parsley: The All-Purpose Herb

By Brenda Hyde

Parsley is a wonderful all purpose herb! The great thing about it, is

that it's so widely available in markets that even if you don't grow

it you can find it easily. I put fresh parsley in every dip and

spread I make, whether it's in the recipe or not! Add it to soups

and sauces, egg dishes, stuffings, bread dough, stews, fish

dishes...I could go on and on. Puree parsley leaves wiht a small

amount of olive oil and freeze in small plastic containers, or ice

cubes trays (remove these when frozen and place in bags). You can

also freeze the parsley leaves on trays and place them in bags when

frozen-simply remove, mince and add to the dishes without thawing!

Do make sure you wash parsley well in very cold water to remove any

soil that's hiding amoung the leaves.

 

Use this mixture to stuff chickens before roasting: 1 cup chopped

parsley, 1 tablespoon lemon zest or minced lemon balm and 3 cloves of

minced garlic. Below is another chicken recipe as well as a dressing.

Parsley is an all purpose herb and as you become accustomed to it

you'll find many new uses for it.

 

Lemon Herb Chicken

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds chicken breast with skin

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 tablespoon chopped parsley, thyme and chives

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

8 thin slices of lemon, with peel

Mix the herbs, butter, garlic and half of the salt and pepper. Loosen

the skin of the chicken-do not remove-and rub the herbed butter under

the skin-dividing between the chicken pieces. Insert 1 or 2 lemon

slices under the skin as well. Smooth the skin back, and sprinkle

with salt and pepper. Bake at 4 degrees for 40 minutes or until

juices run clear. You may also broil or grill for 10 minutes to crisp

the skin after the main baking.

 

Parlsey Chive Dressing

Ingredients:

2 tsp. wine or herb vinegar

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot or green onion

1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced

Combine the ingredients with a whisk and serve with mixed greens and

tomatoes.

 

You'll find parsley seeds at The Garden Guides Seed Shop. They carry

organic moss curled, green river parsley, Italian flat and the cress-

like Mitsuba Japanese parsley.

 

About the author:

Brenda Hyde is an avid gardener, freelance writer and editor living

in the Midwest with her husband and three children.