Well, I like flat leaf parsley much better than curly, both for flavor and texture, but I use parsley on nearly anything.

Chopped up with boiled potatoes, cooked carrots, yellow beans, on steamed peas, on steamed zukes.

Chopped and added to anything with a Italian style tomato sauce: pasta, polenta, casseroles, etc.

In scrambled eggs or omelets.

In marinades for chicken, pork chops, steaks, shrimp, fish.

In shrimp scampi.

Substitute for some/all the basil in pesto.

Stuffed in the cavity of roasted chicken, duck, pheasant, etc.

In salads (great with butter lettuce).

To make parsley butter for fish, steaks, seafood, potatoes, rice.

In brushetta.

Anywhere a fresh herbal note would be nice.

Enjoy!

Sharon

I grow flat leaf too, but uses are pretty interchangeable.

Mince finely together with fresh garlic, get it really minced so the garlic pieces seem to disappear. Sprinkle on top of grilled vegetables or fish, or meat. Great topping for many soups too.

Make the real middle eastern tabouli, where a lot more parsley is used than bulgur. I make mine with chopped mint too. This salad is mostly parsley, this is one of the dishes I make when parsley is super abundant in our garden.

The other one is definitely not mainstream. I learned it from my Persian neighbors but don't know the name of the dish. It does not matter, here is how you make it: You need a whole bunch of parsley (3-4 large bunches from produce store, if you are not growing it), red kidney beans (about 1/2 lb) and 3-4 dried lemons (get at middle eastern store). Just cook chopped washed parsley, dried lemons and red beans. You might have to add a little liquid, broth or water. I add scallions too, and salt at the end. Pressure cooking it works great. Serve with rice. Not for the faint of heart but I really like this dish. Can't wait for the self seeded little patches to leaf up a bit more.

I often read that flat-leaf is tastier, but haven't found it to be true for me. I grow both and find 'em both very tasty, quite similar.

Trh701, wish I lived nearby! I have never had luck germinating parsely and have to buy seedlings.

I never have enough!

Some uses:

- on pasta with butter and garlic (maybe other herbs too, but is good just w/ parsley)

- in tabouli (a middle eastern salad made with bulgur and lots of parlsey --- I've linked to a recipe; I use a bit less parlsey than that and usually include some grated carrot and some little chunks of cheese, like a feta or firm goat cheese) --- even my meat-and-potatoes hubby likes this, though more as a side dish than as a meal; add however much more veggies you like ;-)

- in pesto (mostly made with basil, but a handful of parsley goes nicely with it and helps stretch it out)

- on fish --- any white fish baked w/ a squeezeof lemon, a sprinkle of parsley, a smidge of butter

- in herb salad dressings

The curled kind is so pretty you can also put a sprig on each plate when you have company --- poof, instant garnish, real classy.

Oh, yeah, and we have a bunny, who LOVES parsley. We feed him the stems.

Congrats on your great germination!

Z

Here is a link that might be useful: Tabouli

I use parsley to grow caterpillars! Seriously, the Eastern Swallowtails just love it and I cannot grow it faster than they eat it. The Monarchs took over my dill last year too - I ended up using dried dill to make pickles.

I use larger amounts in parsley salad or in tabouli. Google parsley salad or tabouli and you'll find all kinds of variations for both.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Saveur Parsley Salad

I used to watch this Cajun cooking show on PBS years back, and that guy put parsley in everything. And since that's where I learned about Cajun food, I always put it in when I make Cajun food (gumbo, jambalaya, etc) along with the Holy Trinity.

And yeah, what everyone else said too. On potatoes, seafood, in anything Italian...

i recenly saw a recipe for parsley pesto...
I also use parsley in leau of cilantro which I dislike. As I recaill I picked that upe from Ina Garten, who also dislikes cilantro

I actually prefer the curly-leafed parsley, though I have the flat-leafed one as well. I find the flat-leafed one has a coarser flavour.

Try some of these ideas in addition to all the others:

Parsley Soup
125g fresh chopped parsley, stems included
30g flour
45g butter
1 onion
1 stalk of celery
1 litre stock
pinch nutmeg
1/2 bay leaf

Chop parsley, including stems. Melt butter, cook onion and celery for a few minutes. Sprinkle in flour and mix well. Pour on stock and bring slowly to the boil blending smoothly, add parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg and bay leaf. Simmer for 25 minutes. Serve as it is, or put through a blender.

Parsley Sauce
150ml tahini
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
150ml lemon juice
4 tablespoons water
pinch salt
45g chopped parsley

Beat the tahini until smooth. Add garlic, lemon juice, water and salt. The mixture should resemble a fairly thick cream add more water if necessary. Stir in parsley and serve with fried fish, grilled lamb or as a dip for raw vegetables.

Parsley Jelly
100g parsley, chopped
1 cup apple, skins and cores included
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
3 cups water
sugar

Place all ingredients except sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil, simmer for 30 minutes. Strain through a jelly bag overnight. Next day, measure the juice and return to the saucepan. Add 3/4 cup sugar for every cup of water. Then boil rapidly to setting point. Spoon into hot sterilised jars, cover until cool, then seal.

Parsley Pesto
1 large bunch Italian parsley leaves
1-2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil

Put all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Delicious served with chicken or fish.

Crisp Parsley Tortillas
4 wholemeal tortillas, 20cm diameter
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 cup finely minced fresh parsley
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat a well-seasoned cast-iron frypan over medium heat. (If the pan is not well-seasoned, paint on a little olive oil.) Meanwhile, spread the tortillas evenly with the mustard. Sprinkle on the parsley, then fold each tortilla in half. Reduce the heat under the frypan slightly and set 2 tortillas in the pan. Let them heat until lightly browned on the bottom (about 2 1/2 minutes), then flip and brown the other side. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. To serve, slice into wedges and sprinkle with Parmesan.

I make an ordinary white sauce, add some chopped parsley, and serve it with a corned beef dinner or vegetables, especially new potatoes.

When crumbing foods, such as chicken, dip into beaten egg, then lightly into some chopped parsley, then continue with more egg and the breadcrumbs. You can vary this by including some chopped chives or other herbs as well.

Don't forget - the root of parsley is edible, too! It has a delicious taste reminiscent of parsnip/carrot/parsley. The best parsley for this is Hamburg Parsley, grown for its roots, though the leaves are edible too. I like it roasted whole.

Tabouli wiTh mint. Spaghetti sauce. Pesto with basil or arugula. Eggs scrambled. Any soup. Mint chutney as part of mint ( also use some cilantro ), any sauce needing fresh green flavor, salads. I use as an easy way to add an extra veggie serving for each family member at a meal because it's so easy to add to everything.