Recipes using lots of PARSLEY

My mom used to tell me that her mom loved parsley.  Her mom would say don't plan flowers on my grave but plant parsley, please.  I love parsley too.

Chimichurri    I started making this with Joe when I returned home from teaching in Lebanon.  I liked making mezze-like healthy small plates to serve instead of bigger main dishes.  I found this recipe online under Simply REcipes.  Joe looked up a recipe and the nickname was Argentinean pesto! 

1 cup parsley
4 cloves of garlic
2 Tbsp oregano leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Finely chop the parleys, etc.  Stir in the EVOO, etc.  Adjust seasonings.  :)


Ingredients Makes about 2 cups 1 shallot, finely chopped 1 Fresno chile or red jalapeño, finely chopped 3–4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or finely chopped ½ cup red wine vinegar 1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more ½ cup finely chopped cilantro ¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 Tbsp. finely chopped oregano ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil Preparation Step 1 Combine shallot, chile, garlic, vinegar, and 1 tsp. salt in a medium bowl. Let sit 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro, parsley, and oregano. Using a fork, whisk in oil. Transfer ½ cup chimichurri to a small bowl; season with salt and reserve as sauce. Gremolata from Alice Waters

This is a mixture of fresh parsley, garlic, and lemon rind that tastes really good on just about anything.

1 bunch of parsley
1 lemon and lemon zest
1 clove of garlic

Wash and dry the parsley.  Pull the leaves off the stems and chop fine.  Grate just the yellow rind of the lemon using the finest holes of a grater.  Peel and chop the garlic very fine.  Mix the three together in a small bowl.  Sprinkle on grilled chicken, or whatever you like, right after cooking and before serving.


Parsley with Pasta

I cook garlic in olive oil and add chopped walnuts and lots of parsley and then mix in cooked pasta.

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• Romesco Sauce     From Bon Appetit. This recipe doesn't use that much parsley, but I wanted to save it here anyway.
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• 1 large roasted red bell pepper from a jar
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/4 cup tomato purée
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

If you have a lot of lemons....

We have a lemon tree.  I give a lot of lemons away to friends and I also make ice cubes of lemon juice so I have lemon juice conveniently available to use throughout the year.

Juice the lemons and pour juice into ice cube trays.  Place the trays into the freezer.  After the cubes freeze, remove them and put as many as fit into a freezer ziplock bag.  I write the date and contents with a Sharpie marker on the outside of the bag.   Keep in the freezer and defrost the cubes as you need lemon juice.


Not Lemon Squares but Lemon Quadrilaterals 

aka Lemon Parallelograms
  
We used to make a lemon bar using oatmeal and sweetened condensed milk.  One of our kids adapted it for the County Fair and won 2nd place!  A few years later, our other kid added some raspberries to the recipe and won 1st place.  Let me know if you want the recipe and I will post the basic recipe here.

Joe found this lemon bar recipe that are baked in the microwave (!) and they taste great.

Base:
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zeste
1/2 cup butter

Filling:
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
3 eggs
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup lemon juice

Grease a 9 x 9 microwavable pan.

To make the base:  mix the flour, powdered sugar and lemon zest.  Melt the butter and combine with the flour mixture.  The mixture will be crumbly.  Pat it into the greased pan. Microwave for 3 minutes at power level 8 until the base is firm.  Depending on the strength of your microwave, it may need an additional minute.

To make the filling:  combine the sugar, lemon zest, eggs, flour, baking powder, salt and lemon juice in a medium-size bowl.  Beat for 2 minutes.  Pour over base.  Return to microwave and cook at power level 8 for 3 minutes until the filling is set but has a slight wiggle like Jello-O.   Depending on the strength of your microwave, it may need another minute. Cool completely.  Refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours.  You can cut into squares but I like to cut bar cookies into quadrilaterals (baklava is traditionally cut into this shape)  Cut one side completely diagonally and then cut the other side perpendicular to the pan edge to make the quadrilateral shape.  Keep these in a refrigerator or cooler because the filling contains eggs.
Lemon Chess Pie


This is one of my favorite pies.  I entered this pie in the county fair.  There wasn't enough filling but I won second place!

This recipe is from Family Fun magazine.

Make a pie crust or use a pre-made one. I like the Krustez brand pie mix.  It is like homemade.
Ingredients for the filling:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. yellow cornmeal
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Prepare, chill, and pre-bake a pie crust.
To make the filling set the oven temp to 350 degrees.  Whisk together the sugar, cornmeal, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Add the eggs and egg yolk and whisk well.  Whisk in the milk, melted butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract.  Then slowly pour the filling into the cooled pie shell.

Bake the pie on the center oven rack for about 45 to 50 minutes, turning it 180 degrees halfway through. When done, the top will be dark golden brown, and the filling will be set except for the very center, which may jiggle slightly when you tap the pan.  Cool the pie on a wire rack.  Serve it at room temperature or cover and chill until serving time.

Melissa's Lemon Bars made with oatmeal and...

We cut these to look like Lemon Quadrilaterals or Lemon Parallelograms and not like traditional lemon squares or lemon bars
  
This lemon bar recipe uses oatmeal and sweetened condensed milk.  I don't know what cookbook they are from except that the original recipe was called Florida Lemon Bars and the chef author was a friend of chef Craig Claiborne.  One of our kids adapted this recipe for the County Fair and won 2nd place in 2003!  A few years later, our other kid changed the recipe and added some to the recipe and won 1st place!

Lemon parallelograms made with oatmeal

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon satl
1 14 or 15 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

finely grated rind of 1 or 2 lemons
1/2 cup lemon juice
5 1/3 (10 2/3 Tbsp.) butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oatmeal

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.  Pour the condensed milk into a medium-sized bowl.  Add the grated lemon rind and then, gradually add the lemon juice, stirring with a small whisk to keep the mixture smooth. The lemon with thicken the milk.  The juice curdles the milk; reacts with the proteins in the milk making them stick together.  Set the mixture aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer.  Add the sugar and beat well.  On the lowest speed gradually add the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until thoroughly mixed.  Mix in the oatmeal.  The mixture will be crumbly and will not hold together.

Sprinkle a little more than half of the oatmeal mixture evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan.  Pat the crumbs firmly with your fingertips to make a smooth, compact layer.  Drizzle or spoon the lemon mixture evenly over the crumb layer and spread it to make a thin, smooth layer.  Sprinkle the remaining crumbly oatmeal mixture evenly over the lemon layer.  Pat the crumbs gently with the palm of your hand to smooth them---it is okay if the lemon layer shows through.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the cake is lightly browned.

Cook completely in the pan.  Then refrigerate for about an hour before cutting on the diagonal one way and horizontal or vertical the other way.  Decorate with raspberries for an award winning taste and color.



Lemon Quadrilaterals baked in the microwave
Joe found this lemon bar recipe that are baked in the microwave (!) and they taste great.

Base:
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup butter

Filling:
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
3 eggs
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup lemon juice

Grease a 9 x 9 microwavable pan.

To make the base:  mix the flour, powdered sugar and lemon zest.  Melt the butter and combine with the flour mixture.  The mixture will be crumbly.  Pat it into the greased pan. Microwave for 3 minutes at power level 8 until the base is firm.  Depending on the strength of your microwave, it may need an additional minute.

To make the filling:  combine the sugar, lemon zest, eggs, flour, baking powder, salt and lemon juice in a medium-size bowl.  Beat for 2 minutes.  Pour over base.  Return to microwave and cook at power level 8 for 3 minutes until the filling is set but has a slight wiggle like Jello-O.   Depending on the strength of your microwave, it may need another minute. Cool completely.  Refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours.  You can cut into squares but I like to cut bar cookies into quadrilaterals (baklava is traditionally cut into this shape)  Cut one side completely diagonally and then cut the other side perpendicular to the pan edge to make the quadrilateral shape.  Keep these in a refrigerator or cooler because the filling contains eggs.

Great cookies to send in the mail aka Rob's Monster Cookies

These are great cookies to mail to your college student friend because these cookies are sturdy and travel well in a box.  This recipe makes a large quantity and the dough and the baked cookies freeze well.  They are called Rob's Monster Cookies because Rob's family mailed these cookies to him when he lived in Graz, Austria for two years.  Rob gave me the recipe to make a 1/2 batch and a full batch.

Rob's Monster Cookies

1/4 batch                                   Half batch                                   Full batch

1/2 pound brown sugar               1 lb for 1/2 a batch                    2 pounds for a full batch
1 cup granulated sugar                2 cups                                      4 cups
1/4 pound butter (melt the butter to mix it in better)    1/2 lb          1 pound
3/4 tsp vanilla                             1 1/2 tsp                                   3 tsp vanilla                      
3/4 tsp corn syrup                      1 1/2 tsp                                    3 tsp
2 tsp soda                                  4                                              8 tsp                            
3 eggs                                        6                                              12
3/4 pound peanut butter (more is ok too.  You can melt it a little so it mixes in better)  1.5 lb    3 lb
4 1/2 cups oatmeal                     9                                               18          
1/4 pound M & Ms                   1/2                                              1
1/4 pound chocolate chips          1/2                                            1

Mix all the ingredients in the order listed in an electric mixer leaving out the oatmeal, M & Ms and chips.  Measure the oatmeal into a large bowl and add the mixed batter to it.  Add the rest of the ingredients as dough is mixed.  Use your hands to mix together at this point.  Use and ice cream scoop or tablespoon to make the cookies.  Flatten each cookie with the palm of your hand on greased cookie sheets.  Bake at 350 degree for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the cookies you made.  Bake until light brown.  If you bake until the cookies are dark the cookies can be a real jaw breaker!

The dough and baked cookies freeze well.  The recipe doesn't use flour.  You can add raisins if you like
and /or use butterscotch chips instead of chocolate chips.

Roasted vegetables (squash, beets, bell peppers, potatoes, carrots, etc)

I got these recipes from my friend Kate.  I always need to double check the oven temps and times for each of these vegetables.

She wrote this to me:  "I've discovered how great roasted vegetable are.  I really like to mix several kinds in a covered dish with a bit of olive oil and salt.  Beets, onions, and apple quartered or cut in to eights are a great combination together.Thin slices of apple in any baking dish with various other veggies are an excellent surprise!"

Roasted Celery
The basic directions are:
Heat your oven to 425 degrees (a little more or less is okay too) and add olive oil, salt and pepper to the cut up celery (or celery root, kohlrabi, peppers, carrots etc.) and roast them on a cookie sheet until you can prick them with a fork (or until you decide how hard or soft you want them.

A photo of roasted celery root

Roasted Kohlrabi tastes excellent!  This is worth doing.  My mom  told me about kohlrabi when I was  kid.  She said it can be used in soups.  I love the taste of kohlrabi roasted.   

Roasted Beets
Roasted beets taste wonderful either warm or cold.  They are good tossed in a salad with blue cheese.

5 to 6 medium beets (about 2 pounds)
2 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. coarse salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Trim stems and roots from beets.  Place on parchment-lined foil, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt.  Close foil into a packet.  Transfer to the oven, and roast until tender, about 1 hour.  Remove from oven;  let cool slightly, and then slip off skins.

Roasted Bell Peppers

Roasted Carrots

Roasted Butternut Squash

1 medium butternut squash.  (halved lengthwise, peeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2 inch thick)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spread squash in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.  Toss with oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Roast until golden and tender when pierced with a paring knife, about 45 minutes.  Remove from oven.

2.  Transfer squash to the bowl of a food processor; puree until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside at room temperature until ready to use.

3.  Spread the puree on pizza dough for an unconventional sauce, or enrich it with a bit of butter and serve it as a side dish.

Roasted Eggplant

Eggplant can be roasted whole or in slices, like zucchini; toss slices on a baking sheet with olive oil, salt, and pepper before roasting.   The flesh can be used in recipes such as baba ghanoush and eggplant caviar.

2 medium or 3 small eggplants (about 2 pounds)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To roast whole:  Pierce the skin in several places.  Roast on a baking sheet until soft, 35 to 45 minutes.  Remove from oven, and let cool.  Slice eggplants open, and scoop out flesh.

To roast in slices:  wash and slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices.  Use only a little olive oil because eggplant absorbs the oil like a dry sponge.   I first coat the baking sheet lightly and then brush a little oil on each eggplant slice.   Place the eggplant on the sheet and roast for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Then turn the slices and roast on the other side for 15 more minutes.

Roasted Garlic

Rather than the pungent flavor it has when raw, roasted garlic is mellow, sweet, and nutty.  It's delicious spread on bread or mixed with cooked vegetables.

6 heads garlic, tops trimmed by about 1/4 inch
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Place garlic in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, and cover with foil.  Roast until soft, about 40 minutes.  Remove from oven;  let cool.  Squeeze cloves out of skins.  Whole cloves can be stored, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator up to one week.

Roasted Tomatoes

12 plum tomatoes (about 3 pounds)
1/2 tsp sugar
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
3 Tbsp. olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise, and place cut side up in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.  Sprinkle with sugar, and season with salt and pepper.  Place a few thyme leaves on top of each half, and drizzle light with oil.

2.  Roast until tomatoes have started to shrivel and caramelize about 2 1/2 hours.  Remove from oven; let cool until ready to use.  Tomatoes can be stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Roasted Wild Mushrooms

Serve these smoky mushrooms with chicken or pork.

1 1/2 pounds wild mushrooms, trimmed and brushed clean
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 to 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a 9 by 13 inch baking dish, toss mushrooms with olive oil and butter.  Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with thyme.  Roast until golden and cooked through, about 40 minutes.  Remove from oven;  serve hot.

Roasted Zucchini

Roasting zucchini enhances their delicate flavor while giving them a slightly charred, crisp exterior.

3 medium zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Cut zucchini into 1 inch thick rounds.  Toss in a baking pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast, turning occasionally, until caramelized, about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven;  serve hot.











Caramelized Onions

To get the melt-in-your-mouth quality, the onions need to be cooked very slowly.

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 medium to large red onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions.  Cook, stirring frequently, until soft and golden brown, about 1 hour, reducing heat to medium-low about halfway through.  If onions begin to stick to the skillet, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.  Let cool before using.