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Italian Herbs: Parsely & Basil or Basilico
The herb that's most popularly associated with Italian cuisine is basil (Basilico). There are several varieties; you're most likely to find sweet basil in the shops, it has large, aromatic leaves...
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Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
Italian parsley (sometimes known as flat-leaf parsley) is a green herb with serrated leaves and a clean, slightly peppery taste. It has flat leaves and grows to a height of one and half feet (4cm). While many are familiar with curly leafed parsley, which often shows up as garnish in restaurants, you may not be equally familiar with the flatter-leafed Italian parsley, a close cousin.
Although there are more than 30 varieties of parsley, Italian Parsley is favoured by both professional cooks and home chefs alike because it contains significantly more of the essential oils that make up the parsley taste. It looks a little like coriander, so don't get them muddled up. Flat-leaved parsley has leaves with sharp points, whereas the leaves of coriander are rounded.
Usually sold in bunches, Italian parsley should be bright green with no wilting. Avoid Italian parsley with bruised or limp leaves or with flowering buds which makes it very bitter.
Parsley is used for its leaf in much the same way as coriander (which is also known as Chinese parsley or cilantro), although it has a milder flavour than coriander. You will find it in every kind of cooking, from sauces to soups and is particularly wonderful eaten fresh in salads. It is rich in Vitamins A and C and the minerals, iron and calcium; although it is unlikely that anyone would consume enough qualities that would make a significant contribution to their health. Parsley is said to be a diuretic and a stimulant; it combats scurvy and intestinal problems, stimulates the appetite, and aids digestion. Parsley oil is sometimes used in perfumes and soaps, and parsley juice has been used as an insecticide.
This particular herb grows best in a mostly sunny location with relatively rich, moist well drained soil. It also grows well in deep pots, which helps accommodate the long taproot. If grown indoors it requires at least five hours of sunlight a day and will make seeds in its second year. It tends to self-seed once it is started. Plant new Italian Parsley seedlings every spring.
Parsley is susceptible to downy mildew, so give it enough space for good air circulation.
Use in Cooking
Italian parsley intensifies the flavours of other herbs and can be included in any dish using herbs for a fuller, richer flavour. Mince Italian parsley and add to buttered, boiled potatoes. Add whole sprigs of it to tomato sauces for the last 20 minutes of cooking and remove before service. Mince Italian parsley very finely along with fresh oregano and basil and add to breadcrumbs to use for coating veal, pork or poultry scallops. On the other hand if you're making vegetable, chicken or beef stock, adding a bunch of Italian parsley will provide excellent flavour.
Combine one stick of butter at room temperature with two tablespoons chopped Italian parsley (leaves do not have to be chopped perfectly but you want to make them small enough that you don't just get a whole mouthful of leaf) and two tablespoons lemon juice to make the classic Maitre d' hotel butter to use on steaks, fish, vegetables and breads. Briefly boil Italian parsley leaves, drain, and sauté in olive oil and serve as a side dish.
Parsley doesn't hold up well to cooking, so add it to cooked dishes at the very last
What does it go with?
The fresh flavour of green parsley goes extremely well with potato dishes (French fries, boiled buttered potatoes or mashed potato), and with rice dishes (risotto). It also goes well with fish, fried chicken, lamb or goose, steaks, meat or vegetable stews. Freshly chopped green parsley is used as a topping for soups, green salads or on open sandwiches with cold cuts or pâtés.
Discover the flavour of flat leave parsley and find a new world...
Basil, King of Italian Herbs
The herb that's most popularly associated with Italian cuisine is basil (Basilico). There are several varieties, but you're most likely to find sweet basil in the shops - it has large, aromatic leaves. Cooking with basil, especially if you grew it yourself, is wonderfully satisfying .
Basil is a small, bushy plant that grows to about two feet tall. It is a member of the mint family and is very similar in appearance. With its rich spicy scent it is said to refresh the mind, relieve headaches and elevate moods. It is an excellent source of iron, calcium, potassium and Vitamin C, all of which are hugely beneficial to one's health. But perhaps most of all it is a wonderful and versatile culinary herb.
Fresh basil is best known for pesto and goes extremely well with pasta, rice, tomato, zucchini, and eggplant. The Italians discovered that basil tends to compliment the taste of tomatoes, and since tomatoes played such an important role in Italian cuisine, basil came to be widely used in Italian cooking as well.
It may be good for you, and the oil from the leaf is distilled and used for stomach aches in herbal medicine, but one thing is for certain, it makes your food taste better.
You can store fresh leaves in plastic bags inside the refrigerator, and also freeze crushed or pureed leaves in ice cubes that you can drop into your soups and dishes as flavouring. You can also preserve basil leaves by keeping them in a jar with olive oil.
Basil became an integral seasoning in Italian cuisine, and in fact Italians had such appreciation for this herb, that it became a symbol of love. Cooking with basil induces feelings of love, passion, mental clarity and harmony into your life. It is known as the herb of kings, and is a favourite with cooks around the world, lending its delicious flavour to many ethnic cuisines.
Pick the leaves as fresh as possible, and tear them rather than cut them. (Basil leaves blacken when exposed to metal, therefore it is common in Italy to tear the leaves by hand before throwing the basil into a sauce or onto a dish.)
These torn leaves are great just added to salads, such as insalata caprese. You can also cook them, in a simple tomato sauce for instance, but make sure you add them just before serving. If they're cooked too much they lose their flavour.
Insalata Caprese Recipe
This is a simple salad from the Italian region of Campania, made of sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes (preferably plum) and sprinkled with basil. It is traditionally seasoned with salt, freshly milled black pepper, and olive oil.
Ingredients
Four medium tomatoes 8oz of buffalo mozzarella Bunch of basil with the leaves torn Olive Oil
Directions
•Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella thickly.
•Arrange alternately on a plate and sprinkle with torn basil leaves
•Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to your taste.
Kath Ibbetson has a BSc, a diploma in aromatherapy and a certificate in counselling. But most of all she is a mother and an enthusiastic Italian cook. Italian food is her passion and she has been cooking it for 30 years. Visit her site FoodTheItalianWay.com
A CULINARY MYSTERY TOUR: http://www.brianalanburhoe.com
Bon Appetit
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