Italian Parsley Salsa. Never heard of it? Me either until I found myself with some extra parsley and being the kind of gal who hates to see produce go to waste I poked around to find what exactly could I make with a cup and a half of parsley. Why do I even have parsley in my fridge?
Is there a difference between Italian (flat leaf) and Curly parsley? Italian parsley is easier to chop or chiffonade and has a bolder flavor than Curly parsley. Both can be used interchangeably when a recipe doesn’t denote which variety is preferred.
While Jamie and I are languishing enjoying camper life, we decided to pay close attention to our diets. Living in a 30 foot camper… you tend to pay close attention to EVERYTHING. Dust bunnies, toe nail clippings, dog hair. It’s all there front and center. Having only a Barbie camper size stove to cook with can be a challenge and we started to have way too much pizza and not enough healthy food. Now how is that for honesty?! I could lead you to believe we’ve been eating all our peas and weighing our proteins before we cook them. But no. It’s been garbage and crap with a topping of too much sugar and caffeine. May I say thank you Ben & Jerry for Urban Bourbon. Wow. Just wow. It was fun. Now we are done. And a bit bloated.
Ciao Bella Italian Parsley!
We started where most women start. Salad. What I won’t do. Can’t do. Is sacrifice my homemade salad dressing for just lemon. Or just lemon and oil. No. If I have to live like a rabbit I’m going to be a happy rabbit. Besides this isn’t a diet… its an attitude adjustment. I will share my super killer bestest bleu cheese salad dressing with you in a later post but let’s not get off topic. Parsley is the herb du jour.
On the chopping block.
So here we are with a handful of Italian parsley… in the middle of pepperoni withdrawal. Oh my.
Then I saw it. Italian Parsley Salsa. Intriguing. Provocative. Alluring. OK, I had the ingredients in the fridge.
Fortunately these items are always in my fridge!
Being a family of “picky” food eaters (5 Dog Farm definition of PICKY FOOD: Adjective • Food which you typically eat with your fingers or bread or bread-fingers and can be quickly slapped together. Like out of a bag or jar onto a fancy plate to make it look like you care. Olives, cheese cubes, pickles, chips, dips and salami all fall into the picky food category). We are a picky food family. I had a baguette of crusty bread and a desire to use it. So Italian Salsa became the perfect foil.
Like my measuring bowls? Me too. Find them here.
A versatile dip, you can use this with crusty bread or veggies as well as a yummy topping for fish or chicken. Use Curly or Italian parsley or go wild and use both at the same time.
I love chopping veggies.
I like to chop my ingredients even though I will be throwing them into a food processor. That’s just the way I roll. I also use the parsley stems. They pack just as much flavor as the leaves and are highly underrated. Chop those puppies up and toss ’em in.
While my Cuisinart is away the Ninja will play.
My big girl food processor is safe and sound in storage right now so I used my Ninja but you can use a mortar and pestle or a food processor or just use your amazing knife skills à la Anne Burrell!
The poor woman didn’t have a chance. I just yammered on…
Uh huh. Oh ya. That’s me and my bud Anne. Ok, so we aren’t buds. I was at a foodservice show and she was a speaker there and I JUST ADORE HER so I had to buy her book Cook Like a Rock Star {life changing!} and have a convo with her – natch. In the picture you see her telling me she likes my tunic and I only managed to look at the camera once as I poured out my creepy stalking fan heart to her of how fabulous she and her cookbooks are. She took it like a champ and didn’t once call for security. She DID however tell me about an amazing restaurant in Chicago (where the show was) called The Purple Pig. If you like pork and trying new things… Go. Just GO! Tell ’em me and my buddy Anne sent ya. Better yet, just mention Anne.
I sprinkled a bit of chili pepper on top. Some like it hot.
So with out further adieu here is your picky food recipe for Italian Parsley Salsa. Go grab some crusty bread and take a dip!
A great way to make a healthy dip or marinade with that forgotten herb...Parsley. I use this on other meats as a marinade as well as putting a small dollop in my homemade vinaigrette.
- 1-1/2 cups Italian Parsley plus stems
- 1/4 cup Capers
- 4 cloves Garlic (you can use less but why?)
- 1 tbsp Lemon
- 1/2 tsp Red Chili Flakes (I used my homemade fermented chili paste)
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest
- 1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar (optional)
- 3 each Anchovies (optional)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
-
Chop ingredients if you're a nut like me or just dump everything minus the salt and pepper (try the anchovies I really think the anchovies make the recipe but it's up to you) into your food processor.
-
Pulse until the parsley is well chopped or to the consistency you prefer. I give it about 10-12 one second pulses. Be sure to stop and scrape down bowl as necessary. That's it. You're done!
-
This dip can be made ahead and refrigerated. Be sure to bring to room temperature before serving.
Ready to dig in!
What creative dishes have you made with this underrated herb?
Leave a Reply