Parsley as Rock Star Ingredient

Parsley is often relegated to prettying up our food. For some of you, parsley is what you chop to top your plates and artfully try to garnish after you’ve binge watched a bunch of food-related programming (whether chef helmed or competition). 

Rarely mentioned as a hefty ingredient in recipes except faux pesto and chimichurri, parsley is the go-to substitute for folks whose palate cannot properly process cilantro. At our home, though, a healthy bunch of parsley means chicken in green sauce is a distinct possibility.

Chicken in green sauce is a state of mind more than a recipe. It requires pieces (legs and thighs are perfect). Pour a tablespoon or two of oil to cover the bottom of a pan. Place chicken in pan (do not crowd). Season with salt and pepper. Top chicken with garlic (I cut it in half or slices). Use as much as you like. Top that with a bunch of parsley and top the parsley with a few scallions, and add a splash of olive oil over the herbs. Cover and cook on low heat for about an hour.

After an hour, the wilted herbs and garlic and the pan juices (which the chicken will render at least half a cup of it) go in the blender/food processor and processed for less than a minute. Taste and correct (add lemon juice or hot sauce, salt if needed.) Pour the sauce over chicken and heat through.

Chicken in green sauce is awesome and comforting over rice. Leftovers are delicious mixed with pasta. Leftovers also make for great sandwiches (I reserve a tablespoon of the sauce and mix it with the mayo). Also, you can pour a couple of tablespoons of sauce over potatoes for a funky Spanish omelet or to season a warm potato salad. Some of the sauce mixed with mayo and a squirt of fresh lemon also makes for a really fun pasta salad (elbow macaroni and garbanzo is a great combo).

If the chicken renders enough liquid that you have sauce left over, you can freeze it and use it as a base for soup later.

Lots of great recipes here. And you can start your own love affair with salsa de ajo y perejil.

Parsley became the rock star last week when I decided to give Penelope Casas’ chuletas de cerdo al horno con ajo y limón (baked pork chops in garlic and lemon) a lazy adaptation. I had beautiful pork chops and a beautiful bunch of parsley. My godfather had given me two beautiful heads of garlic. It was kismet!

I started by searing the chops and making the paste as the chops browned.

I used about half the parsley (about a cup), about 10 garlic cloves, a capful of lemon juice, Sriracha, sea salt, pepper and lemon zest, and about a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese for a slight nuttiness. I chopped and then added extra virgin olive oil and pureed into a lovely paste.

I sliced potatoes (about ¼”) and scalloped them on the bottom of my cast iron pan. I spooned some of the parsley paste over the potatoes. I used four medium potatoes and scalloped in two levels. The pork chops went over the potatoes topped with the remaining paste. I baked for about 45 minutes at 400-degrees F.

The leftover sauce rendered by the dish became a pasta sauce with turkey breast and yellow squash. There is a savory quality that goes well with the blandness of turkey and it does not at all make it taste like pork. It has depth of flavor that easily translates into a whole new dish.

I did again. This time, the parsley sauce included tiny yellow and orange peppers. I reserved about half a cup for pizza--with mozzarella and onions. Before I added the rest to the meat, I added a little milk to mellow out the heat. This time I made the pork chops on the stovetop over a medium-low flame for about 45-50 minutes (first sear the chops, and then scallop the potatoes on the same pan as in the method discussed). 

Again, I refrigerated the leftover sauce. After skimming the fat off the top, I drizzled with about two tablespoons of sauce over each chicken leg, and roasted for an hour at 375-degrees.

The leftover? Not sure what we’ll make with it. I may sauté some veggies with it, and freeze the rest. We have some chicken soup from a rainy day last week. A spoonful of leftover sauce will probably go well in the soup or brushed over a baguette to dunk in it.

The parsley sauce loses some of its greenness, but if you want to add a vibrant green color to it, add more fresh parsley and process it. At this point, the parsley has transcended its garnish status and become the rock star ingredient of the week!