What to do with LOTS of parsley?

Question

I have been getting LOTS of parsley in my CSA box and I don't know what to do with it all. I have tried pesto, but it wasn't popular with my kids- they said it was too "spicy". I was thinking tabbouleh- I like a high parsley to bular ratio- but I don't know any recipes to use. Does anyone have any parsley heavy recipes or lots of smaller ideas of how to cook with parsley? thanks!
by the way- it is Italian parsley, not curly parsley.

Answer

You might try Alton Brown's Parsley Salad. I discovered the recipe in one of AB's books from Good Eats, and added the recipe to the list of recipes I intend to try someday, just haven't gotten around to it yet. It calls for two quarts of parsley:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/parsley-salad-recipe/index.html

Answer

parsley butter
you can dry some of it it and use it that way
I add parsley to certain smoothies
def as one of the greens in a salad
chop up a bunch for ease of use in recipes
parsley pesto cut with basil is better than by itself

Answer

I think you could freeze the pesto as cubes and use it to stir into soups, stews, or beans, where your kids may not notice it as pesto. Parsley pesto on grilled steak, chicken, or fish or sauteed with shrimp sounds wonderful, though maybe not for your kids. I like to add it plain to sandwiches, right along with the letttuce, and, as tiffeecano has already suggested, when I have it growing (way too hot here now), I chop it and sprinkle it on practically everything. BTW, my mom always freezes chopped parsely as is and just spoons some out of the container to add to whatever she may be cooking that would be enhanced by parsley.

Answer

Try a cream of herbs soup? You just lightly sweat a few onions, diced carrot and celery in a bit of butter, add stock and cook until all the veg is very tender, then add the parsley and other herbs you might have (celery leaves, chervil, wild garlic leaves, chives, sorrel, dill or mint are all good) and literally only let it cook for another 30 secs or so before pulverising it with a stick blender and adding a hearty splash of cream plus salt and pepper. Makes an aromatic and really summery light starter :)

Answer

Excess herbs pose a problem every growing season. I typically dry as much as I eat fresh. Make small bundles, tie them up, and hang them upside down in a dry and dark place. They're dry when they crumble when you rub them between your fingers. Anything short of that and you risk funk-ifying them. They'll still be plenty strong when you use them over the winter.

I like using parsley quite liberally when I'm finishing my risotto. There being an abundance of fun risotto additives at this time of year, that might help you use a fair bit.

Otherwise, and I know this is cheating, but I do it anyway, here are 150 uses for parsley in the summer.
http://www.epicurious.com/tools/searchresults?search=parsley&att=733&type=advanced&operator=All&threshold=52&att=617

Answer

The Persian frittata ( kuku sabzi) uses fine chopped parsley and smaller amounts of other herbs. It makes a great lunch or picnic food. Here is the recipe link 

http://www.epicurious.com/services/referral?messageKey=03b3cab5e0fa56d0c7baf51cf9ece6d0 

My mother's version is a lot simpler and accessible in ingredients.
I use double the flat leaf parsley. Substitute fresh dill with two tablespoons of dry dill. Substitute "advieh" with turmeric. Don't use fenugreek or barberries. Add 1/2 cup of chopped toasted walnuts.

Answer

Chimichurri sauce! Delicious on all kinds of grilled foods.

Answer

I copied a parsley salad from a local Middle Eastern restaurant- chopped parsley, diced tomato, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper. Like tabbouleh with no grains. Very simple and my 10 y/o loves it.

Answer

Julia della Croce’s Capellini with Parsley Sauce--I have made and loved this dish FOREVER and most recently adapted it to add sausage. But it's delicious on its own, no question.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/609291

Answer

Tabbouleh uses quite a lot of it.

Answer

I love this rice dish from my old Joy. I've been making it for years.
 
Baked Green Rice
Mix together:
1 cup milk
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1 small minced onion
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese
1/8 tsp curry powder
Place into a baking dish, into which has been poured 2 Tbs olive oil. ( the recipe calls for a 7 inch ring mold. I use a round 2 qt casserole dish )
Bake af 325' for about 30 minutes.

Answer

Chop it, add diced garlic, soy sauce and mix. Refrigerate overnight, then drizzle with the sesame oil before serving. Goes great as a topping on noodles, rice, or even as a dipping sauce for dumplings.

Answer

Tabbouleh
4 tbsp. soaked bulgur
3 bunches parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 bunch mint leaves, finely chopped
1 bunch scallions, finely sliced
3 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. lemon juice
salt, pepper and allspice

Drain the water from the soaking bulgur and combine with the next four ingredients. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and seasonings to make your dressing and toss with the rest of the ingredients. A pinch of cinnamon or baharat can also be used to season the salad.

Answer

Though not the most ideal for summertime cooking, I love throwing in whole bunches of parsley when I make vegetable stock. It adds lots of great flavor, and you can freeze the stock (save it for colder autumn weather?). 

When I have too much on hand, I love freezing them in ice cube trays in olive oil. Just chop them up, put about a tbsp of it in each well, and pour olive oil over each well to cover. Freeze, and use it when you need it. I usually use them in quick pasta dishes.

Are you grilling a lot? I've been seeing a lot of articles about using whole bunches of fresh herbs to baste oil on meats on the grill. I bet it'd be fantastic on chicken or fish. 

http://www.thekitchn.com/grilling-idea-make-an-herb-basting-brush-172601

Answer

Here is a Betty Rosbottom recipe for cream of parsley soup http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2000-04-02/news/0004050810_1_parsley-mixture
(Sort of an herby potato leek soup.)
For storage, mince, place in an ice cube tray, fill with oil or water, freeze, then store in bags.
I like to grow lots for me & the black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars that feast on it.

Answer

Chimichurri sauce for steaks

Answer

Start putting it in everything. If you make pasta sauce or chili, add a handful of parsley. If you make mashed potatoes, chop a little parsley and scallions to go in. If you make a green smoothie, add some parsley. 

Parsley can go in most nearly any dish, just chop up a handful and toss it in.

Note: some people, possibly your kids, have a mild allergy to parsley, particularly raw parsley. It can sting and burn the mouth, which might be described as a "too spicy" feeling. 

I suffer from that, so I never do use parsley unless it is going to be thoroughly cooked, and that is why I am a fan of using it up by throwing in small portions in everything over a week or two rather than making one or two parsleyriffic dishes. A small amount of cooked parsley is fine for me, and doesn't make me feel like I'm chewing on glass. Raw parsley, or large amounts in one dish, are not fine.

Answer

The first time my mother made tempura the recipe suggested parsley as one of the items to be battered and fried. We thought it sounded crazy, but she gave it a try. It was fabulous. Saveur's recipe for herb tempura: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Herb-Tempura

Answer

Have you tried chimichurri? 
 It's an easy-to-make green sauce originally from Argentina but widely popular in Brazil and any cuisine favoring grilled food--especially meat but also fish. 
 Here's how-to:
 Just toss 
 parsley
 garlic
 evoo
 oregano
 vinegar (I prefer unpateurized cider vinegar but white will do) 

into a food processor. Proportions are whatever you want them to be. 
 Make a small test batch, adjust flavor to your taste, then go for it. 
 I save it in jars, in the fridge. It's good until gone.
Enjoy!

Answer

I don't really use a recipe for tabbouleh, a dish that I love. Just finely chop a bunch of parsley (NO stems). Add as much soaked and drained bulgar as you like (traditionally, the proportion of parsley to bulgar is very high). Add finely diced tomatoes and green onions. Moisten with olive oil and lemon juice and salt to taste. The more you make it, the more you will discover which ratio of ingredients pleases you.

Answer

I understand what you mean. Here are a couple ideas. First one I got this recipe from my former mother in law she is from Madrid spain so many dishes are used with fresh herbs. 
1lb of shrimp uncooked medium or large
3-4 tbl of butter
2 Cloves fresh finely chopped garlic
A bit of cooking Sherry just eye ball not a lot needed.
And some fresh chopped parsley.
Take off shell on shrimp clean.
In regular sized pan heat over med. 
Coat pan with butter until melted.
Add half of fresh garlic. Stir garlic around in butter. Add shrimp cook about 2 min on each side. Add rest of garlic and parsley. Stir around. Add Sherry just enough to absorb in shrimp and if you feel like you put to much don't worry cook it down won't take long. .with this recipe I've made an awesome salad romaine lettuce red onion tomato and jarred artichokes I add the shrimp on top. It's always a hit. 
Another idea is add fresh parsley with your meatballs or meat loaf
Or chicken and rice soup easy breezy from scratch and so delicious with fresh parsley. If you have any questions feel free to reply
Hope this helps.

Answer

Snip it up, seal in small zip bags, and freeze for use all winter.

Middle Eastern salads like tabbouleh and fatoosh use a lot of fresh parsley. I have learned from them as I grew up mostly in US tradition which sees parsley more as a garnish than an ingredient. But it makes a robust addition to vegetable soup and the ME salads are delicious---try them if you aren't familiar with them---a part of the world with frightening politics nonetheless has wonderful cooking and centuries in a very hot climate has made these cuisines the BEST with cold salads etc on a hot day. I think my Midwestern grandmother would have fainted at the thought of a wheat salad but lovely cool lemony tabbouleh with fresh mint and parsley is now one of my summertime standards. Come to think of it, Grandma would not recognize about 75% of what I cook. Sign of the times.

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What to do with LOTS of parsley?

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