My uncle used to say "Just like parsley!" about something, or someone, predictably ubiquitous - just like the parsley in Italian cooking.
Certainly, parsley is the most commonly-used herb here, and chopping fresh parsley is how we start or finish many of our dishes.
When I harvested all of my chard the other week (here), I also harvested the parsley - an entire colander-full of Italian parsley leaves - and today, I'm writing about growing parsley over at the co-op: Italian parsley and strawberries: companion plants?
An entire colander full of fresh parsley leaves is too much even for me, a big parsley fan, to eat. Here are a couple of quick and easy recipes for when you have a large bunch of fresh parsley to store and use up.
Chopped parsley & garlic mixture (for freezing)
Chopped garlic and parsley go together in so many recipes, and one of the best ways to use up fresh parsley, is to prep it, mix it with garlic, and freeze it, so that you have a handy mixture ready-made whenever you need it. This mixture comes in handy for me on so many occasions!
Ingredients
4 cloves of garlic, peeled (adjust according to your taste for garlic - in our family, we love it!)
2 cups fresh parsley leaves
1 pinch salt
Directions
First grind the garlic and salt, in a small food processor or spice grinder. Then add the parsley, one cup at a time, pulsing with each cup. Freeze.
Almond and parsley spread
This makes a tasty spread - the almonds soften and sweeten the slightly pungent taste of the parsley - that we like for breakfast on bread (here).
Ingredients
1 cup almonds
2 cups parsley leaves
1 pinch of salt
extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
In a small food processor, or spice grinder, grind the almonds. Add the parsley and salt, and grind together, adding enough olive oil to make the mixture as creamy as you like.
