Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Herb guide to Parsley along with all the Parsley containing recipes presented on this site, with 1436 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives information about Parsley and a listing of all the Parsley-based recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Parsley as a major herb flavouring.

There are two main types of parsley used in cooking: Flat-leaf of Italian parsley Petroselinum crispum var neapolitanum (image, left) and curly-leaf parsley, Petroselinum crispum var crispum both being members of the Apiaceae (carrot) family. Both forms are used and grown as pot-herbs.



Garden parsley is a bright green hairless biennial herbaceous plant in temperate climates, an annual herb in sub-tropical and tropical areas. Where it grows as a biennial; in the first year, it forms a rosette of tripinnate leaves 10–25 cm long with numerous 1–3 cm leaflets, and a taproot used as a food store over the winter. In the second year it grows a flowering stem to 75 cm tall with sparser leaves and flat-topped 3–10 cm diameter umbels with numerous 2 mm diameter yellow to yellowish-green flowers. The seeds are ovoid, 2–3mm long, with prominent style remnants at the apex. The plant typically dies away after the seed is set. As a result, to ensure a continuous crop, parsley should be sown every year.



The flat-leaf variety of parsley (Petroselinum crispum var neapolitanum) is the closest in form to the wild parent plant. It is also preferred by many as it's easier to cultivate than the curly-leaf variety. Though the curly-leaf variety is preferred by others as it's far more decorative. Typically, also, flat-leaf parsley has a stronger flavour (see the next paragraph on the essential oils). There is a third type of parsley, Petroselinum crispum var tuberosum that is grown for its tuberous root (which looks like a miniature parsnip) and is commonly used in the cuisines of central and eastern Europe.

Parsley has a very distinctive aroma that is present in all parts of the plant (but is strongest in the root). The essential oils of the leaves have myristicin, limonene and 1,3,8-p-menthatriene as their main components. Monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes are also present as minor components. Interestingly the curly-leaf variety has an essential oil that is richer in myristicin, but typically contains much less essential oil than the flat-leaf variety. It should be noted that parsley should not be consumed in excess by pregnant women. It is safe in normal food quantities, but large amounts can have uterotonic effects

The English name, parsley derives from the classical Latin Petroselinum (literally meanint parsley and which is also the genus name of the plant), which, itself, derives from the Greek petroselinon [πετροσέλινον] (parsley). The Greek name being derived from the components petros [πέτρος] (rock, stone) and selinon [σέλινον] (celery). Thus parsley was 'the celery that grows on rocks'.



Flat-leaf parsley generally has a stronger flavour due to the higher levels of essential oils in the leaves. As a result flat-leaf parsley can be used either as a garnish or during cooking. Curly-leaf parsley is used almost exclusively as a garnish for fish dishes, apart from in the cuisines of West Africa where it is pounded with chillies, spices, garlic and onions to be used as a rub and marinade for fish.



Parsley is considered one of the four 'fines herbes' of French cuisine (along with tarragon, chervil and chives). It is one of the most commonly-employed herbs world-wide. The list of recipes below only gives those recipes for which parsley is a major component. The link given here lists all the parsley-associated recipes on this site. Please note that the list is extensive, with over 2100 recipes given in all.