Cooking With Parsley: How to Use Flat-Leaf and Curly Parsley in Everyday Cooking
Parsley is more than a plate garnish. Its fresh, grassy flavor can brighten salads, sauces, soups, grains, eggs, vegetables and meat dishes, and both the leaves and tender stems can be useful in the kitchen.
The two types most commonly sold are flat-leaf parsley and curly parsley. Either can be cooked with, although their texture and flavor are somewhat different.
Flat-Leaf Parsley vs. Curly Parsley
Flat-leaf parsley has broad leaves that are easy to chop and is often favored for cooking because its flavor is pronounced and its texture integrates easily into food. Curly parsley has tightly ruffled leaves and a firmer texture that can be useful when you want visible texture as well as fresh herb flavor.
You do not need to reserve curly parsley for garnish. If it is fresh and tastes good, chop it into salads, sauces, egg dishes or soups just as you would other parsley.
How to Choose Fresh Parsley
Look for vibrant green bunches with crisp leaves and stems. Avoid parsley with extensive yellowing, sliminess or a stale smell. A few damaged leaves can simply be removed.
Bunches of flat-leaf parsley
Do You Use Parsley Stems?
Yes. Tender parsley stems have plenty of flavor. Finely chop them for sauces, salsas, soups and dishes where a little extra texture is welcome. Save very thick or fibrous lower stems for stock or discard them if their texture does not suit the recipe.
When to Add Parsley
Fresh parsley keeps its brightest flavor and color when added near the end of cooking or scattered over the finished dish. It can also be cooked earlier when you want it integrated into a soup, sauce or stuffing, but prolonged cooking softens its fresh character.
Parsley in Salads
Parsley can function as a true salad ingredient rather than a decorative sprinkle. Chop it generously into potato salads, grain salads and vegetable salads, especially when the dressing contains lemon, vinegar, mustard or olive oil.
Try Mediterranean Potato Salad or Peach & Shaved Fennel Salad.
Parsley in Sauces, Salsas, and Dressings
Parsley works particularly well with garlic, lemon, vinegar, capers, chile peppers and olive oil. Those combinations can become a vinaigrette, salsa, herb sauce or finishing condiment for meat and vegetables.
Parsley With Eggs and Breakfast Dishes
Eggs benefit from fresh herbs because their mild flavor gives parsley room to stand out. Add chopped parsley to omelets, frittatas, scrambled eggs and savory breakfast bakes.
Parsley With Meat, Fish, and Vegetables
Parsley’s clean herbal flavor works with chicken, beef, pork, lamb and fish without adding the strong piney or anise notes of some other herbs. It is also useful over roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes and beans.
Parsley With Rice and Risotto
Stir chopped parsley into rice, pilaf or risotto shortly before serving to add color and a fresh counterpoint to butter, cheese or stock.
Fresh Parsley vs. Dried Parsley
Dried parsley is convenient for cooked dishes but does not reproduce the bright flavor or leafy texture of fresh parsley. Use fresh parsley when the herb is an important finishing ingredient; dried parsley is better suited to recipes where it cooks with other seasonings.
How to Store Fresh Parsley
Trim the stem ends and refrigerate parsley with the stems in a small amount of water, loosely covering the leaves, or wrap it in a slightly damp paper towel and place it in a container or bag. Keep the leaves from sitting in water and remove any deteriorating pieces as you use the bunch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is flat-leaf parsley the same as Italian parsley?
Italian parsley generally refers to flat-leaf parsley.
Can curly parsley be used for cooking?
Yes. Curly parsley is edible and useful beyond garnish. Chop it finely when you want it to blend more easily into a dish.
Can you eat parsley stems?
Yes. Tender stems are flavorful and can be finely chopped. Very thick lower stems may be too fibrous for some dishes.
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