YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES

Global Search
Friday February 10, 2012
« It came back!!!
Frost tonight? Uh-oh. »

Parsley overload

Posted on September 5th, 2008 – 11:37 AM
By Jaime Chismar
Parsley2_1_1.JPG

This year, my basil was a bummer. Instead of growing tall and bushy, it languished long and leggy.

Was it lack of sunshine or water? No.

My basil was overpowered by parsley — freaking flat leaf parsley. The more I cut it back, the bigger it grows. Four tiny plants are now a fragrant hedge.

As fall nears, my basil’s days are numbered — and spoken for. I got pasta sauce to make and homemade pizza to bake.

But, what does one do with an overabundance of parsley — an often overlooked herb?

This entry was posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 11:37 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

14 Responses to "Parsley overload"

Pete says:

September 5th, 2008 at 12:40 pm

pesto with some, dry the rest, and plant garlic instead next year!

At least, that’s what I’m doing.

Jaime Chismar says:

September 5th, 2008 at 1:27 pm

LOL! I adore garlic. I planted four rows this year. It was a great harvest.

I go through garlic like candy and now half of it is already gone!

Robyn Dochterman says:

September 5th, 2008 at 1:43 pm

Your whole neighborhood could have fresh breath, Jaime! Except for that one neighbor. Did she ever sell her house?

judybusy says:

September 5th, 2008 at 1:57 pm

I learned to grow just one parsley plant–I know your pain! I use it a lot whenever I use basil, chopping them up together. It’s also indispensable as a soup stock ingredient. And tabouli–when properly made, it’s more green with parsley than anything else! A long time ago, in a different city, at a Moroccan restaurant I ate steamed carrots dressed with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, S and P, a whisper of cinnamon and parsley. Hope that gives you some ideas!

nordeast barngal says:

September 5th, 2008 at 2:03 pm

Or, if you’ve got any potatoes around, you could invite the Norwegians over for parsleyed potatoes!

Connie Nelson says:

September 5th, 2008 at 2:45 pm

We used have Parsley Buttered Potatoes quite regularly for school lunch. Of course, you have to use canned potatoes!

Sherri H says:

September 5th, 2008 at 7:14 pm

Seriously, Jaime, make tabouli! Use LOTS and LOTS of parsley, which is what they do in Lebanon. In fact, it’s called parsley salad there, and is more parsley than bulgur wheat or tomatoes. I still like to add mint to mine, and of course, lots of lemon juice and scallions. Voila! A Middle Eastern taste treat.

Amy says:

September 5th, 2008 at 11:00 pm

We love our Basil this year…it’s SOOOO much more fragrant that when it’s bought from the store!

MaryAlice says:

September 6th, 2008 at 6:07 am

After washing, stuff the leaves into ice cube trays, cover with water and freeze. Then just pop them out and put them in Ziplocs when they’re frozen. I was skeptical about this technique, but it really preserves the flavor and does not get slimy/mushy like I expected. If you let the cubes thaw at room temperature for 45 minutes or so, you will have very respectable parsley for use in just about anything, just squeeze out the excess water. I’ve heard it also works for sage and basil, but I haven’t tried that yet. :-)

robin says:

September 7th, 2008 at 12:12 pm

Fry steak in a pan With the juices from the steak, saute garlic and parsley and add some red wine to scrape of the bits With this sauce you pour it over your steaks. Delicious.

Extra parsley goes to my guinea pig She loves it

anneesha says:

September 8th, 2008 at 9:13 am

Just pulled this off epicurious.com - way to use garden weeds AND parsley!
Purslane & Parsley Salad

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1/2 pound cherry tomatoes (preferably assorted heirloom varieties), halved or quartered if large
6 cups packed tender purslane sprigs and leaves (from a 1-pound bunch)
4 cups packed parsley leaves

Whisk together oil, lemon juice, shallot, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Add tomatoes, purslane, and parsley, gently tossing to coat.

Cooks’ note: Herbs and greens can be washed and dried 1 day ahead, then chilled in sealed plastic bags lined with paper towels. Toss with tomatoes and vinaigrette just before serving.

Jaime Chismar says:

September 8th, 2008 at 12:49 pm

Purslane! You do know the way to my heart!

Bubbles says:

September 13th, 2008 at 10:16 pm

Got parsley? :-)

Slovak Pea and Potato Soup
2 quarts water
2 cups diced potatoes
⅓ cup chopped FRESH parsley
1 teaspoon salt
10 ounce pkg frozen peas (or 2 cups fresh)
3 tablespoons butter
⅓ cup minced onion
2 tablespoons flour

Bring water to boil; add potatoes, parsley and salt and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in peas. Brown onion in butter, stir in flour and brown lightly (this mixture is called “zaprashka”); stir into soup to thicken slightly. Cook until peas are done.

Notes:Cheap to make and very tasty! A lenten favorite.

Add some of that parsley to your basil pesto—you could do worse.

-Bubbles

Subscribe to Greengirls

Learn more about RSS

Categories