KEY POINTS:
Spring herbs are surely one of a cook's most exciting ingredients. And although these days most herbs are available year-round, their flavour is usually best - most refined and delicate - in spring, before they flower.
Used carefully to complement and temper other flavours, rather than overpower them, herbs bring a new lease of life to the most mundane dishes. Imagine a tomato salad with a scattering of peppery basil, a chicken pie with a warming hit of tarragon and a simple jug of water with a handful of fresh mint. Then imagine them without. Not quite as exciting, are they?
Yet in the modern cook's collection of fresh herbs, poor old parsley is often overlooked. Too often it's relegated to being just a garnish and pushed untouched to the side of the plate. However, it's a key ingredient around the world: in Italy as a gremolata, finely chopped with lemon and garlic and scattered over meats; chopped into Moroccan tagines; and in France, they cook it with garlic for their persillade sauce.
Incredibly, there are more than 30 varieties of parsley but unless you grow your own, usually just two are available: the fresh, robust curly parsley - great for adding a springy texture to salads - and the vibrant flat-leaf or Italian variety. This is stronger-tasting as it contains more essential oils than its curly cousin and is best stirred into sauces and stews at the last minute. If you're unsure how much parsley to add, nibble a couple of leaves before adding to a dish to gauge its strength.
Stock up on fresh parsley while it's plentiful and choose bright green, perky leaves. Removed from any plastic wrappings, washed and stored in a sealed container in the fridge, it will last for about a week. Alternatively, you can dry the leaves on a baking sheet in the oven on a low heat, then crumble with your fingers. Store parsley in a jar and it'll see you through the colder months.
Parsley also has many health benefits. It's high in vitamins A and C, and was used by the Greeks and Romans for various ailments, including digestive disorders. Chew on the leaves to freshen breath, neutralise garlic and onion odours - and eradicate evidence of the night before. Unfortunately, however, I can't promise it will cure a sore head.
