Italian Parsley

Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Malta, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia), but has been naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and is widely cultivated as a herb, and a vegetable.

Parsley is widely used in European, Middle Eastern, and American cuisine. Curly leaf parsley is often used as a garnish. In central Europe, eastern Europe, and southern Europe, as well as in western Asia, many dishes are served with fresh green chopped parsley sprinkled on top. Flat leaf parsley is similar, but it is easier to cultivate, some say it has a stronger flavor. Root parsley is very common in central, eastern, and southern European cuisines, where it is used as a snack or a vegetable in many soups, stews, and casseroles. It is believed to have been originally grown in Sardinia (Mediterranean area) and was cultivated in around the 3rd century BC. Linnaeus stated its wild habitat to be Sardinia, whence it was brought to England and apparently first cultivated in Britain in 1548, though literary evidence suggests parsley was used in England in the Middle Ages, as early as the Anglo-Saxon period.

Etymology

The word "parsley" is a merger of Old English'' petersilie'' (which is identical to the contemporary German word for ''parsley'': ''Petersilie'') and the Old French ''peresil'', both derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin , which is the latinization of the Greek πετροσέλινον (''petroselinon''), "rock-celery", from πέτρα (''petra''), "rock, stone", + σέλινον (''selinon''), "celery".The Euro+Med Plantbase Project
''Petroselinum crispum''
Interactive Flora of NW Europe
''Petroselinum crispum''
/ref> Mycenaean Greek se-ri-no, in Linear B, is the earliest attested form of the word ''selinon''.

Description

Garden parsley is a bright green, biennial plant in temperate climates, or an annual herb in subtropical and tropical areas.

Where it grows as a biennial, in the first year, it forms 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, it grows a flowering stem to tall with sparser leaves and flat-topped 3–10 cm diameter umbels with numerous 2 mm diameter yellow to yellowish-green flowers. The seeds are ovoid, 2–3 mm long, with prominent style remnants at the apex. One of the compounds of the essential oil is apiol. The plant normally dies after seed maturation.Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Illustrated Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening'' 3: 532. Macmillan .

Culinary use

Parsley is widely used in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Brazilian, and American cuisine. Curly leaf parsley is used often as a garnish. Green parsley is used frequently as a garnish on potato dishes (boiled or mashed potatoes), on rice dishes ( risotto or pilaf), on fish, fried chicken, lamb, goose, and steaks, as well as in meat or vegetable stews (including shrimp creole, beef bourguignon, goulash, or chicken paprikash).

Parsley seeds are also used in 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 fresh green, chopped parsley sprinkled on top. In southern and central Europe, parsley is part of '' 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 soups such as chicken soup, green salads, or salads such as ''salade Olivier'', and on open sandwiches with cold cuts or '' pâtés''.

''Persillade'' is 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 parsley, capers, anchovies, garlic, and sometimes bread, soaked in vinegar. It is an Italian custom to serve it with bollito misto or fish. ''Gremolata'', a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest, is a traditional accompaniment to the Italian veal stew, '' ossobuco alla milanese''.

In England, parsley sauce is a roux-based sauce, commonly served over fish or gammon. It is also served with pie and mash in the East End of London, and in fact all over London and The Home Counties, where it is referred to as Liquor.

Root parsley is very common 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.

In Brazil, freshly chopped parsley () and freshly chopped scallion () are the main ingredients in the herb seasoning called (literally "green aroma"), which is used as key seasoning for major Brazilian dishes, including meat, chicken, fish, rice, beans, stews, soups, vegetables, salads, condiments, sauces, and stocks. is sold in food markets as a bundle of both types of fresh herbs. In some Brazilian regions, chopped parsley may be replaced by chopped coriander (also called cilantro, in Portuguese) in the mixture.

Parsley is a key ingredient in several Middle Eastern salads such as Lebanese '' tabbouleh''; it is also often mixed in with the chickpeas and/or fava beans while making falafel (that gives the inside of the falafel its green color). It is also a main component of the Iranian stew '' ghormeh sabzi''.

Parsley is a component of a standard seder plate arrangement, it is eaten to symbolize the flourishing of the Jews after first arriving in Egypt.

Nutritional content

Parsley is a source of flavonoids and antioxidants, especially luteolin, apigenin, folate, vitamin K, vitamin C, and vitamin A. Half a tablespoon (a gram) of dried parsley contains about 6.0 µg of lycopene and 10.7 µg of alpha carotene as well as 82.9 µg of lutein

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