Parsley Pesto

When I was growing up, one of my favourite meals was gammon with parsley sauce. So when I started my own kitchen garden, I was determined to grow plenty of parsley. But even if you only have a few containers on the patio, it’s easy to grow plenty of parsley that’s much fresher and cheaper than the herbs on sale at the supermarket.

This is one of a series of posts looking at what we might eat on Mars, where most food would have to be shelf-stable, tinned or freeze-dried. You can find other posts on this topic under the Martian Meals tag.

I cook by feel, and my recipe books don’t get off the shelf much. With pesto, in particular, it’s all “to taste” in my kitchen, and to texture: Too little oil, and the blender or Cuisinart can’t process it; too much, and it won’t really freeze nicely. For me, freezing’s the main point. I don’t want to OD on pesto in high summer, but want a steady supply year-round.I make a lot of pizza, crust and all, and I smear the unbaked crusts with olive oil, my pesto, and roasted garlic before I layer on homemade tomato sauce (stored frozen beside the pesto) and the cheeses.An “ice cube” or two of defrosted pesto also makes a welcome spread on baguette or crackers with olives and cheese and other snacking things, when guests stop by. Nothing’s easier as a seasoning when m

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, to my taste.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

IF YOU THINK OF PARSLEY AS A GARNISH, plant a seedling or two and be done with it. To me, parsley is a staple ingredient in salads and pestos, red sauces and soups, and egg creations like frittatas (and so much more).

GET OUT YOUR FOOD PROCESSOR and get creative. You can simply puree virtually any green herb (from chives to parsley, basil, oregano, cilantro, arugula, sage, and even garlic scapes when in season) in an olive-oil base. Some cooks add garlic and/or nuts and grated cheese now; some think the mixture doesn’t store as well with the extra ingredients. Freeze the thick mixture as cubes, knocked out into doubled freezer bags with all the air expressed. More onmaking herb pestos.freeze herbs as ice cubesTHIS METHOD MIGHT BE preferable when an oil base doesn’t suit, such as for lemon balm or other mints (or with other green herbs that might be used in a non-olive oil recipe later).  Easy: wash herbs, pat dry and remove from stems. Chop if needed, or simply press into ice cube trays and drizzle a little water over to fill, so a cube will form when frozen. You can also process the herbs with a little water as the base, as in the oil version above, and then make cubes. When ready, pop cubes out into freezer bags.freezing rosemary, thyme or baySOME HERBS ARE EASIEST to

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Last spring I saw some tulips underplanted with parsley – I can’t remember where – but I thought it looked rather wonderful, so I’m giving it a go. I suspect I should have got the parsley in earlier so that it could get well ahead of the tulips, but if I’m lucky it won’t be completely overwhelmed and achieve the desired effect.

Wouldn’t you love to add the flavor of garden-fresh herbs to your hearty cold-weather dishes?Well, there’s no need to rue(!) the arrival of

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,Remember me to one who lives there,She once was a true love of mine.So begins the old Simon and Garfunkel song “Sc

Nothing completes a homemade soup or salad like a sprig of aromatic parsley fresh out of the garden. Low-maintenance once established, this often finicky herb does take a bit of patience to get started.Whether you live in a warm

Aromatic, fast-growing, and flavorful, parsley is an essential herb in the kitchen garden. And it’s easily cultivated in pots or planters for convenient and readily available freshness.The tasty leaves are also highl