A TRIPLE CROWN OF FLAVOUR
Experiment with using green onions, mint and parsley as ingredients rather than just garnishes
I think of green onions, mint and parsley as anytime flavours. No matter what else is in the vegetable world, they remain constant.
When cauliflower skyrockets, parsley and green onions remain the same. I will admit that I’m spoiled with mint because I’m close to several Asian markets that sell large bunches of a variety of mints.
Depending on where you live, they can be the first offerings from the earth with parsley and mint staying vibrant and fresh over the winter on the West Coast.
While you’re jonesing for your farmer’s market to burst with summer’s bounty, consider this vibrant trio.
Are you a defaulter? I’m a defaulter too, using green onions, mint and parsley as a garnish, rather than an ingredient most of the time. When I don’t default, I fully embrace, rather than offering a limp handshake.
My first encounter with this trio, the first time as ingredients, was in tabbouleh.
Never having been to the Middle East, I defer to Ottawa, my hometown, and home to a large Lebanese population.
There, 40 years ago, tabbouleh, hummus, baba ganouj, falafel, kibbeh and za’atar-spiked fattoush were reverently and gratefully eaten as part of my culinary upbringing.
There was a deft artistry to this food. It wasn’t sloppy or carelessly seasoned. It was always just right. I could tell that the invisible cooks who made it loved it, and wanted me to love it, too.
At first, I was taken aback by its intense green flavour. Ottawa tabbouleh was mostly parsley, mint, finely diced tomatoes and cucumbers punctuated with a little bit of bulgur.
The bulgur was rinsed and allowed to absorb water but not cooked which gave it a very pleasant chewy quality.
When I was first served tabbouleh that was mostly cooked bulgur, very little parsley and no mint, I was all “ewww” about it because it wasn’t what I was familiar with.
Chopping all that parsley can be wearying if you don’t have a sharp knife, patience, and stamina on your side.
Fattoush was another parsley salad with bigger pieces of vegetables and delicious croutons made from pita bread. Half of the salad was parsley, coarsely chopped and fluffy in appearance.
Tabbouleh isn’t the only way to enjoy this great combination. Sprinkle it on roasted chicken with lemon, or apply it to pork chops before cooking. Sprinkle on avocados, tomatoes, or cucumbers. Puree it with mayonnaise as a dip, or with yogurt and serve with Indian or Middle Eastern food. Add large handfuls to cooked quinoa and rice.
Which mint and parsley to use? Curly for tabbouleh and other Middle Eastern salads. I like Italian parsley in soups, western-style salads and stews, but I’m flexible about it. And for mint, whatever type you enjoy the flavour of.