F LAT-LEAF, OR ITALIAN, PARSLEY IS MACHO COMPARED TO CURLY-LEAF, particularly the selection called (grrrr!) ‘Gigante.’ I like my parsley big and strong, and I get just that by growing my own, and stashing it away for year-round use with two easy freezer tactics. No $1.99-a-bunch stuff for me except in recipes when only fresh will do, and no dried parsley for me, ever: insipid! Welcome to Week 1 of Summer Fest, our Herb Week, the kickoff to a four-Tuesday-long cross-blog celebration of garden-fresh foods and flavors.
Curly-leaf parsley is great for edging borders, and for planting as a “ruff” around the feet of bigger plants in pots, where it will be beautiful all season, even after substantial frost. But if you want to cook, go ‘Gigante,’ or ‘Giant of Italy.’ Flat-leaf parsley has more parsley flavor.
All parsley is extremely high in nutrients, particularly Vitamin C, folates and Potassium, as well as beta carotene. In fact, a quarter-cup of raw chopped parsley has about as much C as a quarter-cup of orange juice and double the folates (more that one and a half times those, even, of raw spinach). I include raw leaflets in salads, greatly boosting the nutritional value of every bowlful, and you could put some in these rice-paper rolls from White on Rice Couple, one of my Summer Fest collaborators.
Parsley, a biennial, is easy to grow from seed, despite being ultra-slow and taking two weeks to a month to germinate. Don’t give up on it. I start a 6-pack in the house in early spring, tucking the just-moist cellpack into a slightly ajar plastic bag in a warm spot, then moving to the sunniest windowsill once I see signs of life.
The baby plants, which will look like not so much, quickly put down tap roots and settle in outdoors, shaping up by summer into bushy things. Unlike many vegetable- and herb-garden residents, parsley will manage in part shade, so the north side of your tomatoes (which basil might resent) is fine, for instance, and it does well even spilling out of beds, planted near the edge.
Parsley will technically survive most winters here, but what a mess it will be. To continue to harvest fresh leaves as long as possible into the cold months, tuck one plant in extra-snugly at frost, perhaps with an upside-down bushel basket over it, and with dry oak leaves or another insulating material stuffed inside that. The plant will send up its flower stalk to set seed in spring, compost it, and start the process over.
It’s hard to get to my vegetable garden in the worst winters, so I freeze my year’s supply: some as “pesto” cubes, others in “logs” of leaflets pressure-rolled tightly inside freezer bags (above). The log technique (so easy, and probably the only cooking Good Thing I contributed to “Martha Stewart Living,” though my record with gardening ideas was better!) is illustrated below in the slideshow below; many herbs freeze well this way, such as chives, and when you need some, you just slice a disc from one end of the log.
Parsley pesto (shown frozen as cubes, above), great as an ingredient in soup or stew or defrosted and spooned on top of a bowl of minestrone with a drizzle of olive oil and some cheese, is the same theory as with my basil pesto. When I say “recipe,” I mean “guidelines,” not “roadmap.”
Your pesto style may simply be a thick slurry of parsley blended (or food-processor-ed) in a tiny bit of water, or prepared similarly in olive oil, or you can go all the way and add raw garlic or nuts (pine or walnuts, perhaps?) or parmesan-type cheese, before freezing as cubes that are then knocked out into double freezer bags, with the air expressed. (A very different pesto, involving peanuts, is one of the other entries into today’s Fest–and a recipe I plan to try.)
A similar process, with water or oil or more, can also be used to store many herbs like sage, chives or garlic scapes, or rosemary, I recalled, reading this entry at the Gluten-Free Girl blog; use your imagination, and stash what’s in your garden for later. If made with the extras like cheese and garlic, herb pesto cubes are a real treat on crackers on a frigid day, or tossed into pasta: a mouthful of summer, just when you’re most in need.
Making Parsley “Logs:” Click the first thumbnail to begin the slideshow, then use the arrows beside each caption to toggle from frame to frame. I know, it looks like some Cheech and Chong stash of weed, but what would I know about that?
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HOW OUR CROSS-BLOG SUMMER FEST WORKS:
Summer Fest 2009 is a four-week, cross-blog celebration co-created by A Way to Garden, Matt Armendariz of Mattbites, Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen, and Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple, with guest appearances from Shauna and Daniel Ahern of Gluten-Free Girl, Simmer Till Done’s Marilyn Pollack Naron, and Paige Smith Orloff of The Sister Project. And from you—that’s critical. Your contributions are desired, and needed.
HOW YOU CAN JOIN IN:
So now it’s your turn: Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting today, with the subject of herbs, you can contribute in various ways, big or small. Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. The possibilities:
Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.
The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.
Or think bigger: Publish entire entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2009 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites, who by the way is boozing with his herbs today to kick off the event–yes, herb-laced cocktails).
THE 2009 SCHEDULE:
- Tuesday, July 28: HERBS. Any and all.
- Tuesday, August 4: FRUITS FROM TREES (also known as stone fruits, but we won’t scream if you toss in a berry or another fruit, promise).
- Tuesday, August 11: BEANS-AND-GREENS WEEK (either or both, your choice).
- Tuesday, August 18: TOMATO WEEK. How do you like them love apples?
And in case I forget what week it is, won’t somebody remind me on Twitter? Thanks. We’ll be talking it up there, too.
That’s how a Summer Fest works (and the way that Food Fest 2008 worked, too, remember?). See you next week.
3d annual ‘summer fest’ starts wednesday 
pesto fest! (garlicky green ice cubes) 
i want to play, too! summerfest–what a great idea. we have difficulty keeping delicate dill alive here in the heat of a texas summer, but basil and mint are BFF’s of texas heat. here’s a post from a cooler time back in april:
http://thecosmiccowgirl.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/lemony-egg-salad-with-dill/
Brilliant herb roll technique, thanks!
Love the freezer log and the info on nutrition…I had no idea parsley was such a powerhouse! And I’ve got tons of it right now, even in chilly Vermont.
One more pesto idea…Another version of the ice cube tray technique but lets you have enough for about a half pound of pasta. I line small plastic deli containers with plastic wrap, fill with a half cup of pesto and freeze. You can then pull out the wrapped pesto and store in a ziplock bag. (And your containers don’t smelll like garlic!)
Wow! What a great idea….found you through our girl Julie!
Here’s a marvelous recipe via Tom Douglas in Seattle…
Spring Chickens with Green Marinade
From Tom’s Big Dinners (Morrow, 2003)
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Celebrate Spring with this recipe from the “Spring Chickens” chapter of Big Dinners. The chickens marinate overnight in a thick, green, aromatic herb pesto before being pan-browned and then roasted. Don’t forget to serve the deliciously herb-y pan juices with the chicken.
Tom also likes to use this marinade on a butterflied leg of lamb or lamb chops. Marinate the lamb overnight, then fire up the charcoal grill the next day. (Shake off excess marinade before you grill.)
You can substitute some of your favorite herbs for the ones specified here, but definitely include a few assertive herbs like rosemary and marjoram. If you have a kitchen herb garden, all the better. (Note: If you are feeding 4 people or less, cut the recipe in half and use one chicken.)
• 2 chickens, (about 3½ pounds each) cut into 8 pieces each (2 breasts, 2 legs, 2 thighs, and 2 wings from each chicken)
For the Green Marinade:
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• ½ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• ½ cup sliced fresh chives
• ¼ cup chopped fresh tarragon
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
About ¼ cup olive oil, as needed for browning the chicken
1 lemon, cut in half
Trim excess fat from the chicken pieces. Rinse them under cold running water, pat dry with paper towels, and place them in a non-reactive pan.
Combine the green onions, herbs, garlic, lemon zest, and salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, gradually adding the oil last to emulsify. The marinade will be very thick, like a pesto. Pour the marinade over the chicken pieces and turn to coat the pieces on both sides. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 450°F. Heat 2 large sauté pans over medium-high heat with about 2 tablespoons of oil in each pan. (If you don’t have 2 large sauté pans you can brown the chicken in batches.) Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving any excess marinade. Put the chicken pieces in the pans skin side down and sauté until the skin is nicely browned. Turn and brown the other side, adjusting the heat between medium and medium-high as necessary so you don’t burn the chicken. As the chicken pieces are browned on both sides, about 8 to 10 minutes total for each piece, transfer them to a roasting pan. Squeeze the two halves of the lemon over the chicken and throw the lemon halves into the pan.
Scrape any extra marinade into the roasting pan. Put the roasting pan in the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked, juices run clear, and the thigh meat reads 175°F on an instant reading thermometer, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven.
Remove the chicken from the roasting pan and arrange on a platter. (If you like, you can cut the chicken breasts in half first so your guests can choose both white and dark meat.) Whisk the pan juices to break up any clumps of the marinade and drizzle a little over the chicken. Pour the rest of the pan juices into a gravy boat, discarding the lemon halves, and pass with the chicken.
Yum, yum and more yum….I use boneless chicken thighs if time is tight, salmon is great etc.
Thanks for the recipes and tips….Debra
Welcome, Debra. Makes me laugh about the “Spring Chickens” chapter. It sounds like a very flavorful and beautiful dish, thanks for sharing it. I think it’s one my sister, Marion, would like…so I will alert her to it. See you soon again.
Hello, Margaret
Where can I learn what to plant and how to plant on the rock ledge in back of my house in Poughkeepsie? Rhus typhina ‘Tiger Eyes’ planted in much sun and sufficient soil just sickened and died. Moss and dear moss grow on parts of it. Also blackberries and rosa multiflora. And verbascum. And several oaks, now felled, grew tall. It would be hard to irrigate. Could you point me towards something to read? Many thanks for *A Way to Garden,” not to mention your own exemplary garden.
Thanks,
John
Welcome, John. I would start with small plants if it’s a tough spot, and let them root in themselves. Though it involves waiting, I often have better luck with small things especially in rocky spots (fortunately a nearby nursery to me sells shrubs in smaller sizes that are ready to grow but not huge rootballs yet, which is ideal). How dry a spot is it, may I ask?
For John in Poughkeepsie with the rock ledge:
I personally can’t kill spiderwort, bee balm (monarda) or daylillies no matter how hostile the spot or how awful the weather. Heat, drought, flood, mowing to the roots – these three survive it all. Good luck!
What a great idea! I have been cooking so much with fresh herbs this summer. One of my favorites is panko and feta zucchini pancakes (my husband prefers pancakes, I usually call them fritters). They use fresh dill, parsley, and scallions and are so amazing, we can’t get enough of them.
http://dianasaurdishes.com/07/panko-and-feta-zucchini-fritters/
I love the idea of rolling herbs in a log. I have a ton of basil from my CSA and will be giving this a try, thanks!
Margaret, your Summer Fest project inspired me to post today, putting aside another writing project not nearly as fun. Thanks for giving me an excuse to run to the garden and clip some herbs.
http://penandfork.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/cranberry-grapefruit-salsa/
Welcome, Barbara Jane. All good ones, thanks. Aren’t daylilies tough? Sort of amazing how much so. See you soon again.
Welcome, Diana. Did you say pancakes and also fritters int he same breath? Count me in. Wonderful ideas. See you again soon, yes?
Ha!
But do you get these??? At the moment it’s a competition of Darwinian proportions on my 66 Square Foot terrace: me or the caterpillars for the parsley:
http://66squarefeet.blogspot.com/2009/07/black-swallowtail.html
Interesting information about parsley. My absolute favourite is cilantro but I find it doesn’t freeze well. Any suggestions?
Today I posted about different pestos — a green one for cilantro lovers and a red one for those who loathe it.
http://christie-corner.blogspot.com/2009/07/cilantro-and-summer-fest.html
Welcome, Charmian Christie. I don’t know why you couldn’t make a “pesto” out of it, a thick slurry with some water (just a touch) or oil, depending what you wanted to do with it later, and freeze cubes? Hmmm… I have read in old preserving books about pre-blanching herbs (dipping them very fast in a pot of boiling water, then into ice cold water to stop the blanching) before freezing, to improve tenderness, taste, color, but have never tried.
http://edgehillherbfarmer.spaces.live.com/default.aspx
I have just blogged a “Sweet Bay” Part I (of ?, who knows how many Bay blogs) on this year’s HERB OF THE YEAR, 2009 as chosen by The International Herb Association http://www.IHERB.org The blog includes my “Breakfast of the Year – Bay Oatmeal” recipe.
I was awol visiting family in Australia when the submissions to the IHA book on BAY were collected last fall, so my contribution did not make it into the IHA Bay book, but the book is absolutley wonderful & available for sale from members like myself & from the IHA directly. Everyone, please, have a look…
Hi Margaret…
I am a huge fan of yours and am so happy to have found you via the web!
I read your newsletter right before heading to the garden for clean up of the buddlia & deadheading shaded pansies and coreopsis that are growing like crazy in the innkeeper’s private garden! With good mental down-time and an over-abundance of fresh mint to trim, I thought about the wonderful ‘Virgin Mojitos’ I made last summer for our guests here at the Inn. We like to serve something refreshing and we always make things that are ‘in season’,…and that particular day it seemed like mojitos were the perfect thing! They were a huge hit and are soooo refreshing in the mid-afternoon after guests return to the Inn from a day in town.
Mojitos can be enjoyed ‘virgin’ or with a splash of rum, but at the Inn, we serve them as the recipe reads…I hope you’ll enjoy! Here goes:
Main Street Manor Virgin Mojito
1 big fat bunch of fresh mint, freshly plucked from the garden…washed & cleaned
1 cup granulated sugar
4 lemons, cut in eighths (leave the skin on)
4 limes, cut in eighths (leave the skin on)
1 tray of ice cubes
1 liter of club soda (I use Pellegrino)
In a large pitcher, muddle the mint sprigs with the sugar, lemons and limes. Continue to beat the mixture along with the lemons and limes to extract the juices from the citrus and the flavor from the mint for about 5 minutes. Put the mixture into refrigerator for at least 1 hour. After one hour, remove from fridge & add ice, water or club and stir together. Pour into glasses, straining out mint & lemon & lime pits. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh mint (not beat up) & Drink…Cool off & enjoy
Summertime in a glass! :-)
Oh my goodness, your herbs are amazing looking. I used mint from our garden for a super easy and fast summer soup.
It is called Mast-o-khiar and it is the perfect meal for a hot summer day.
http://mypersiankitchen.com/?p=834
Oh my…we just ate the most amazing burgers….using the herbs off my earth box planter..growing like crazy!!
And, do try the bison if you can get it. If not, use lean beef. I used this recipe because bison is quite lean and it was so good! We fought over the last one!
Adapted from Ron Shewchuck’s “Barbecue Secrets Deluxe”
To Die For Decadent Burgers
4 soft hamburger buns, preferably w/sesame seed tops
thin slices of red onion
Keen’s mustard
thin slices of good cheddar, preferably old
Burgers:
1.5 lbs. of ground bison meat (or lean beef)
1/2 cup soft butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian Parsley (or basil or whatever fresh herb you have too much of!)
grind of fresh pepper
Mix soft butter, garlic, pepper and herbs till well blended. Roll in a log about 1 inch thick and put in freezer till quite firm.
Divide bison into 4 portions. Cut 1/2 – 3/4 inch piece off the garlic butter log and wrap half of one portion of bison around the chunck of butter, making a ball. Make sure the butter is all covered. Take the remaining portion of bison and cover the first piece completely. This insures that the butter is totally encased and won’t drip out when cooking. Gently, and I mean gently, press the ball down to make it more a hamburger shape. Continue with the other three burgers.
Grill (or broil) till cooked, about 6-8 minutes per side. Instant meat thermometer should read 160 degrees. Be careful when you test the temp you don’t puncture the butter pocket and loose all your nummy yummy filling!
During the last few minutes of grilling the meat, place the buns cut side down on the grill and char till golden. Dress the bugers with cheddar, onion, Keen and prepare to swoon!
Enjoy!
Welcome, Donna Arnold. I am glad to be found, and thank you for your kind, kind words…and for the recipe. My sister loves bison, and so this is another one I will pass to her.
Welcome, My Persian Kitchen. I have never had a soup like that, but it sounds divine, with yogurt and raisins and cukes and nuts…thank you for a very original recipe that I will try on a hot day, yes.
See you both soon again, I hope.
i used to have parsley growing like weeds! once they took, they were growing all over my yard. never knew what to do with all of it. unfortunately i moved to a new home, and though i have a small plant this season, it’s not as abundant as before. i could have used your parsley logs idea before :)
here’s my post for summer fest (herbs): yakitori & shiso
http://www.alamodejournals.com/index.php/2009/07/fo-shiso/
thanks margaret!
Fabulous idea for preserving parsley for fall and winter soup-making! Just finished cutting the parsley today and will “roll” tomorrow!
Welcome, Rick. Shiso! Good one. I have it growing all over the place here from self-sowns; just pulled out most of them. It makes beautiful pink stain for pickled ginger, which I love love love…and this recipe sounds very nice. Thanks, and do come again soon.
I’m a little late to the party, but better late than never, right? We love parsley here, too, almost as much as the deer do. Late each winter we start 100 parsley seedlings under lights in the house — 50 curly and 50 flatleaf. That gives us enough to use as edging, grow in pots for cooking, add to mixed container plantings and replant when the deer come through as they inevitably will. Besides parsley I also love anise hyssop, bronze fennel (another deer favorite), summer savory and tarragon. I’m not much of a cook but the resident chef is fabulous. He made tarragon chicken for supper a few weeks ago — I’ve posted the details at sillydoggarden.blogspot.com. Enjoy!
Welcome, Karen. That is a LOT of parsley. Wow. And I thought I was addicted. :) Thanks for the report (sorry about the deer!) and the link to the recipe. See you soon again, I hope.
Sorry for being a bit late to the summer fest, but I really want to play along, too!
My post is stretching it a bit for the herbs–and have chosen the non-cullinary lavender for a post. I think it still may fit in the “herb” category, though! Just returned from southern France and haven’t had a chance to write about the kitchen garden at Rose Cottage.
So here is my contribution to herb week–French lavender from a gorgeous chateau in southern France:
http://rosecottagegardensandfarm.com/2009/08/02/heavenly-french-lavender/ .
Time for a bit more visiting on everyone’s summer fest!
Best,
Debbykay at Rose Cottage Gardens and Farm
I have had so much fun reading this Summer Herb Fest that I have to forward it to the Rocky Mountain Unit, a unit of The Herb Society of America to enjoy too.
Enjoy Herbs,
Marilyn
Welcome, Marilyn. Uh-oh, here come the Herb Society members! I had better edit in words like Petroselinum crispum and all the serious details to my post. Yikes! I will hurry.
I’m going to try that parsley log. Thanks for the info.
Hi Margaret,
I don’t know if you will see this question since the topic is an older one, but have you tried to freeze basil like the parsley? Seems it would just turn black but maybe you have some ideas. It is still warm here in CA but I am anticipating the first freeze and hate to lose all my basil! Thanks, Pam
Welcome, Pam. It does blacken, yes, so I do it in a slurry of just a little water (blend/Cuisinart) and freeze that as a cube (or do it with oil as a cube). So not pesto, exactly…much less added ingredients, just enough liquid to make a paste. I have read in old preserving books that you can blanch it (dip in boiling water very briefly) the freeze it, but that seems like madness. :)
I am just reading this article, though it seems to be a year old. Its so timely for me since I just planted my Italian Parsely two weeks ago. Thanks for all the ideas for preserving it over the winter.
Welcome, RacheRose. Yes, it’s from last year, but I pointed it out again to people (so many of whom are new every week!) because it’s planting time. The archives are full of stuff that I try to bubble up seasonally, while also adding new timely posts (or so I attempt to, tee hee). Glad it was good for you that I unearthed it just now. See you soon!
Thanks for the tip on freezing fresh herbs!
I think I will freeze some using you bag log roll method.
I freeze chopped spinach in water in ice cube trays too, then put in large zip lock bags for use in cooking. I will try that with the pesto too!
I have a Foodsaver. It is one of those vacuum seal machines. I just wash the herbs I am saving, dry them completely and then put them in small packets, seal and freeze. They retain their color and are available to use in cooking all year long.
Welcome, Linda. Martha Stewart (whom I used to work for) gave me one of those machines as a gift. They’re great — but I quickly ran out of “bags” or whatever you call the special plastic stuff. Have to remember to get more… :)