Parsley

Arabic Baqdounis, Baqdunis; Maqdounis, Maqdunis (North Africa)
French Persil
Hebrew פטרוסיליה, פטרוזיליה Petrosilia, Petrozilia
Italian Prezzemolo
Portuguese Salsa
Spanish Perejil

Parsley - and we're talking about the flat one - is a herb that deserves the "indispensable" tag. For versatility and compatibility, parsley is indispensable. Not that curly one, mind you. That type should be called butcher's parsley. When it comes to flavour, the curly one is distinctly lacking.

The flat-leaf type is another matter altogether. Also called continental or Italian parsley, its flavour is assertive and intense, and its perfume sweetly fragrant.

The French use parsley in bearnaise sauce, beurre maitre d'hotel (parsley butter) and the famous fines herbs: a mixture including chives, tarragon and chervil used for flavouring tarts, omelettes and the like.

In the Middle East, parsley is used as a garnish on babaghanoush and hummus, and is essential in tabouli.

Because parsley's flavour is lost with long, slow cooking, it's best chopped fresh and added during the last few minutes in a dish such as osso buco. Sprinkled over a soup just before serving, its flavour is released by the heat of the liquid.

Late spring is the best time for parsley as the stalks and leaves are still tender. As the heat of summer increases, the leaves become large and coarse, giving a bitter edge to its flavour.

What to look for
Choose parsley with small to medium leaves that are evenly green. Avoid leaves that are large and blemished, and those that are curled and drooping. With very young parsley, there's no need to discard the stems as they are as sweet and edible as the leaves.

Parsley goes with
Fish, especially grilled or barbecued; garlic; butter; extra virgin olive oil; lemon juice; salads; cheese; veal kidneys braised in red wine; green beans; broad beans; chickpeas; lentils; leeks and onions; artichokes; zucchini; roast tomatoes; eggs; grilled and braised mushrooms; spaghetti and linguini; smoked cod.

The root of parsley is eaten as a vegetable or cooked in soup to improve the soup's taste, as it does not diminish in flavour after a long time of cooking.
They are an efficient diuretic drug. (Spice Pages Parsley (Petroselinum crispum))

Medicinal virtues:
It is comforting to the stomach and helps to provoke urine and the courses, to break wind, both in the stomach and bowels, and opens the body.
The root is stronger, and may be boiled and eaten like Parsnips.
The seeds have similar uses, but are also good to break the stone and ease the pain thereof.
The leaves laid to the eyes inflamed with heat, or swollen, helps them. If used with bread or meal, or fried with butter, and applied to women's breasts that are hard through the curdling of their milk, it abates the hardness and takes away the black and blue marks coming of bruises or falls.

Take of Parsley seed, Fennel, Anise and Caraway, of each one ounce (28 g), of the roots of Parsley, Burnet, Saxifrage and Caraway, of each an ounce and a half (42 g). Let the seeds be bruised and the roots washed and cut small. Let them lie all night and steep in a bottle of white wine and in the morning be boiled in a close earthen vessel to a third of the quantity. Strain and clear it and take four ounces (110 g) night and morning fasting. This opens obstructions of the liver and spleen and expels the dropsy and jaundice by urine.

Modern uses:
Parsley tea is made from the dried leaves, 1 OZ (28 g) being added to 1 Pt (568 ml) of boiling water, and taken in doses Of 1-2 fl OZ (28-56 ml).
The seeds contain an oil which is used in doses of 3-10 drops to promote the menstrual flow and to ease menstrual pain.
A fluid extract is prepared from the roots by herbalists; but for domestic use a decoction can be made by boiling them in water and administering in doses of 2 fl oz (56 ml) for jaundice, dropsy and urinary tract stone. (www.magdalin.com)