How to Make Gremolata (And Grow the Parsley Too)

Design and InstallationGarden Caregarden TriviaPlant Health Carerecipe
Written By Peter Morris

A story by Grahame Hubbard.

A good friend and her daughter was staying at my house, and one night they cooked dinner and made Gremolata. Oh my goodness I was addicted. I immediately cleared a planter in the garden and filled it with Italian flat leaf parsley.

Italian flat leaf parsley !

If you ( like myself ) don't know what Gremolata is - this could be the difference between a dish that is bland and unexciting to something alive and truly bursting with flavor!  

The  best thing is, it only takes FIVE  minutes to make  - longer if you are going to pick the parsley !  The ingredients are simple and usually on hand. Or in my case - at the end of the block at the inconvenience store ( not so fondly named that because they are rarely open lol ).

You can use it on everything !

Avocado on toast, roasted vegetables, toasted sandwiches, steak, chicken, fish or even cornflakes ( well maybe not cornflakes ).

There are two ways to make this little pot of deliciousness

  1. hand chop all ingredients - its often the best way as blending garlic often results in a slightly bitter after taste.

  2. Throw it all in the blender and hit the button - This is what I do as I was making a lot ( think bucket size ) and sharing it with friends and neighbors.

Getting ready !

Ingredients

  1. One bunch of flat leaf parsley - tender stems ok - ( seeing I was picking directly from the garden I just took the leaves off of the parsley and snapped the stalk off of the plant to give it a mini pruning - which will encourage more growth). It should equate to one cup of leaves. I multiplied everything by three ( told you I planted a lot of Parsley!)

  2. Two cloves of garlic - nice and fresh don't use the old wrinkled up pieces at the bottom of the vegetable drawer ! ( actually don't use anything old and wrinkly at the bottom of a vegetable draw!! )

  3. Zest of one lemon

  4. Juice from the now naked lemon

  5. Half a cup of olive oil.

  6. Quarter of a teaspoon of salt.

  7. Half a teaspoon of pepper ( vary according to taste )

  8. A pinch of dried Chili flakes - optional

Lemons to zest !

Directions

By Hand - chop garlic and parsley until fine, add lemon juice, zest, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add Chili flakes if so desired - and taste. It should taste salty and lemony. Add more oil for a looser consistency.

By Food Processor - Place un chopped parsley, garlic and lemon zest in food processor. Pulse until chopped. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper. Pulse again. Taste and add chili flakes if so desired

Batch # 1 !

For enough parsley to sink a battleship - Call Plant Specialists TODAY !

We can plant some for you and care for it too !

Don't delay – the sooner the better !

GREENING NEW YORK FOR OVER 52 YEARS !

Article written by our Staff Horticulturist, Peter B Morris, BSc, MSc, MBA

All photographs used with permission from our home garden !

Peter Morris

Peter was born and raised on a beautiful green island in the midst of a tropical rainforest. He was introduced into the world of plants at the age of six when his grandmother, an avid Spanish gardener herself, asked him to help her grow seeds for her pepper garden. He was hooked! By the time he was a teen, he had his own rose and orchid collection numbering in the hundreds. Botany was in his blood, and that is what he set out to study.

His passion brought him to NY in the late seventies to further his education. His tenacity allowed him to work full time at Plant Specialists while he completed a MS in Plant Biology. As a manager at the time he felt unsatisfied with his knowledge of business and business processes. Peter felt compelled to learn, so he then pursued and completed an MBA in Quality Management within a few short years.

Peter’s other passion is teaching. His natural ability is quickly consumed by our staff in all subjects in Botany, Horticulture, and Landscaping. He created an immense reference library of more than 3,500 plants providing an invaluable resource for our staff.

Peter’s breadth of knowledge and wisdom allows him to effectively diagnose the needs of plants. Sometimes just by walking into a garden he can create a prescription that fixes even the hardest issue. He is our Staff Botanist, Diagnostician, and all around Mentor. Recently, he has put his immense knowledge and skills into developing a new department that focuses on Plant Healthcare. As he puts it, “Magic through Science”. The PHC staff that surround him have avidly consumed his teachings. Substantially developing their own plant wisdom, many have taken on difficult plant health issues with spectacular results.

Plant Healthcare has been an instant success with customers! The proper treatment of insects and diseases including Organic methods has made pest control a necessity for every plant. Correcting hormonal imbalances caused by planting in containers or refurbishing soils leached of nutrients by irrigation systems are big challenges PHC has become quite comfortable addressing. The scientific approach to the complex demands of keeping plants healthy in our harsh city environment has made many a customer say WOW!

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