What is parsley?
A: Parsley, or garden parsley is a species of
flowering plant in the family Apiaceae.
It is native to where?
A: The central and eastern
Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon,
Israel,
Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Malta,
Morocco,
Algeria, and Tunisia).
It has been naturalized elsewhere in Europe and is
widely cultivated as a what?
A: An herb, and a
vegetable.
Garden parsley is a bright green, biennial plant in
temperate climates, or an annual herb where?
A: In subtropical and tropical areas.
Where it grows as a biennial, in the first year, it
forms what?
A: A rosette of tripinnate leaves 10–25 cm long with numerous 1–3 cm
leaflets, and a taproot used as a
food store over the
winter.
In the second year what does it grow?
A: It grows a flowering stem to 75 cm (30 in) tall with sparser leaves and
flat-topped 3–10 cm diameter umbels with numerous 2 mm diameter
yellow to
yellowish-green flowers.
The plant normally dies after what?
A: Seed maturation.
Where is parsley widely used?
A: In Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Brazilian, and American cuisine.
Curly leaf parsley is used often as a what?
A: A garnish.
Parsley seeds are also used in what?
A: Cooking, imparting a stronger parsley flavor than leaves.
In central Europe, eastern Europe, and southern Europe,
as well as in western Asia, many dishes are served with what?
A: Fresh green, chopped parsley sprinkled on top.
In southern and central Europe, parsley is part of
what?
A: Bouquet garni, a bundle of fresh herbs used as an ingredient in stocks,
soups, and sauces.
Freshly chopped green parsley is used as a topping for
what?
A: Soups such as chicken soup, green
salads, or salads such as salade
Olivier, and on open sandwiches with cold cuts or pâtés.
What is persillade?
A: A mixture of chopped garlic and chopped parsley in French cuisine.
Parsley is the main ingredient in Italian salsa verde,
which is a mixed condiment of what?
A: Parsley, capers, anchovies, garlic, and sometimes
bread, soaked in
vinegar.
Gremolata, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon
zest, is a traditional accompaniment to what?
A: The Italian veal stew, ossobuco alla milanese.
In England, parsley sauce is a what?
A: A roux-based sauce, commonly served over fish or gammon.
Where is it served with pie and mash?
A: In the East End of London where it is referred to as Liquor.
Root parsley is very common where?
A: In Central, Eastern, and Southern European cuisines, where it is used as
a snack or a vegetable in many soups, stews, and casseroles, and as
ingredient for broth.
Parsley is often mixed in with the chickpeas and/or fava beans while making what?
A: Falafel (that gives the inside of the falafel its green
color).
It is also a main component of what Iranian stew?
A: Ghormeh sabzi.
Parsley is a source of flavonoids and antioxidants,
especially what?
A: Luteolin, apigenin, folate,
vitamin K, vitamin C, and vitamin A.