The market · Herbs and aromatics · Southern Europe, The Middle East
Parsley
Green, fresh and a little bitter: a herb in its own right, not a garnish.
green · fresh
What to do with it
LevantineTabboulehA salad of parsley — mostly parsley — with tomato, mint, spring onion and a little bulgur, dressed with lemon and olive oil.No one here has made it yet
LevantineFalafelBalls of soaked, raw chickpeas ground with herbs, onion and spice and deep-fried — crisp outside, green and soft within.No one here has made it yetLevantineFattoushA salad of crisp leaves, tomato, cucumber, radish and herbs with shards of toasted or fried flatbread, in a sharp dressing of lemon and sumac.No one here has made it yetPersianGhormeh sabziA deep green stew of herbs fried slowly in oil, with lamb, kidney beans and whole dried limes.No one here has made it yetPersianKuku sabziA thick, deep-green frittata that's mostly herbs, bound with just enough egg, often with barberries and walnuts.No one here has made it yetPersianAsh reshtehA thick soup of beans, chickpeas, lentils, herbs and flat noodles, topped with kashk, fried onions and dried mint.No one here has made it yetTurkishDolmaVegetables hollowed and filled, or vine leaves rolled, round rice with herbs and spices and sometimes meat.No one here has made it yetTurkishLahmacunA round of dough rolled very thin, spread with raw minced lamb, onion, pepper and tomato, and baked for a minute or two in a very hot oven.No one here has made it yetTurkishİmam bayıldıWhole aubergines, split and fried, filled with onion, garlic and tomato and baked in olive oil until they collapse — eaten cool.No one here has made it yet
MoroccanChicken with preserved lemon and olivesChicken braised with onion, ginger, saffron and turmeric until the sauce is thick, finished with preserved lemon and green olives.No one here has made it yetMoroccanPastillaA round pie of paper-thin warqa pastry filled with spiced pigeon or chicken, eggs and sugared almonds, dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon.No one here has made it yet
MoroccanHariraA soup of tomato, lentils, chickpeas and a little lamb, thick with herbs and thickened at the end with flour, served with lemon and dates.No one here has made it yet
MoroccanZaaloukAubergine and tomato cooked down with garlic, cumin and paprika, mashed, and eaten warm or cold with bread.No one here has made it yetMoroccanFish tagine with charmoulaFish marinated in charmoula, laid over potatoes, tomatoes and peppers with preserved lemon and olives, and cooked slowly in the tagine.No one here has made it yet
BasqueTortilla de bacalaoA soft omelette of salt cod, onion and green pepper — the first course at the Basque cider houses.No one here has made it yetCatalanSuquet de peixA fishermen's stew of white fish and potatoes in a saffron-tinted broth, thickened at the end with a picada of garlic, almonds and fried bread.No one here has made it yetCatalanBotifarra amb mongetesA fresh pork sausage, grilled or fried, with white beans warmed through in the same pan with garlic and parsley.No one here has made it yetAsturianFabes con almejasLarge white Asturian beans cooked slowly and finished with clams, which open in the pot and season it with the sea.No one here has made it yetLyonnaisCervelle de canutFresh white cheese beaten with shallots, garlic, chives and parsley, a little oil and vinegar, eaten on bread.No one here has made it yetLyonnaisRavioles du DauphinéTiny squares of pasta filled with cheese, fromage blanc and parsley, poached in stock for a minute or baked in cream.No one here has made it yetAlsatianFleischschnackaFresh pasta spread with minced cooked beef, onion and herbs, rolled up, sliced into spirals like snails, and browned before simmering in stock.No one here has made it yetNormanMoules à la normandeMussels steamed open in cider with shallots and butter, the juices finished with crème fraîche.No one here has made it yetBurgundianEscargots de BourgogneSnails cooked, put back in their shells and stuffed with garlic and parsley butter, then baked until it sizzles.No one here has made it yetBurgundianJambon persilléChunks of ham set in a white wine jelly thick with parsley, sliced cold into a green and pink mosaic.No one here has made it yetGascon and the South-WestMagret de canardThe thick breast of a duck raised for foie gras, scored, cooked skin-down until the fat renders, and served pink like a steak.No one here has made it yetGreekGemistaTomatoes and peppers hollowed out, filled with rice, herbs and their own pulp, and baked in olive oil with potatoes.No one here has made it yetCreole and CajunCrawfish étoufféeCrawfish tails smothered in butter, the holy trinity and a little stock, into a thick, rich sauce over rice.No one here has made it yetCreole and CajunBoudinA soft sausage of pork, liver, rice, onion and spring onion, spiced with cayenne — squeezed from its casing and eaten on the go.No one here has made it yetBrazilianCoxinhaA teardrop-shaped croquette of shredded chicken wrapped in a dough made with its own stock, breaded and fried.No one here has made it yetBrazilianFarofaCassava flour toasted in butter or bacon fat with onion and garlic until golden and sandy, for scattering over beans and meat.No one here has made it yetKitchens that keep it in
Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and JordanLevantineThe cooking of the eastern Mediterranean: olive oil, lemon, tahini and herbs, eaten as a spread of small dishes to share.11 classicsEuskadi — northern Spain and south-western FranceBasqueA coastal and mountain cooking built on salt cod, peppers and olive oil — and on sauces made from nothing but the fish and the pan.9 classics · 1 cooked hereBurgundy — east-central France, from Chablis down to the MâconnaisBurgundianRed wine in the pot as much as the glass, with Charolais beef, bacon, mushrooms, snails, mustard and the cheeses and hams of the hills.7 classicsItalyItalianNot one cuisine but twenty regional ones, united by a respect for a few very good ingredients and the argument about how each dish is 'really' made.11 classicsSouth Louisiana — the Mississippi delta, the bayous and the prairies along the Gulf of MexicoCreole and CajunA dark roux, the holy trinity of onion, celery and green pepper, rice under nearly everything and shellfish from the bayou — city Creole and country Cajun, cooking side by side.10 classics
