Varieties
Though there are more than 30 varieties of this herb, the most popular are curly-leaf parsley and Italian or flat-leaf parsley. The Italian variety, which is a deep blue-green, is more strongly flavored than the curly variety and stands up well to heat. Curly-leaf parsley is milder tasting, lighter green in color, and less perishable.
In addition to fresh, parsley is sold as dried flakes. However, fresh is more flavorful.
Preparation, uses, and tips
Parsley stems have a stronger flavor than the leaves, but both are used to flavor sauces, soups, salads, omelets, and stuffings. It can be used as a decorative garnish for virtually any dish, but do not reserve it to use just as a garnish. Use parsley generously—entire stems with their leaves. In fact, 1/2 cup (20g) of chopped parsley is not too much when combined with small boiled potatoes and butter. You can include it in steamed and blanched vegetable dishes, as a base for salad dressings, as a sauce ingredient, or generously strewn in soups and casseroles.
Soaking parsley in a marinade of oil and lemon juice or sautéing it with onions and tomatoes can improve its taste-enhancing properties.
Parsley is popular in Brazilian cooking where it is used to season onion or shrimp pies, potato and egg dishes, hearts of palm, seafood casseroles, and poultry. It’s also one of the basic French cooking herbs, often combined with chervil, and appears in the classic herb combination fines herbes, which usually features chervil, chives, parsley, and tarragon.
Parsley’s also an excellent natural breath freshener.
Nutritional Highlights
Parsley (fresh), 10 sprigs (10g)
Calories: 3.6
Protein: 0.3g
Carbohydrate: 0.6g
Total Fat: 0.08g
Fiber: 0.3g
Copyright 2007, Healthnotes, Inc., 1505 S.E. Gideon St., Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97202, www.Healthnotes.com.
2006-09-07
