Parsley salad in a bowl of Parmesan

I found this recipe by accident while I was looking for recipes that use a lot of parsley. We had tons of it in the fridge and I didn’t want to let it go.  Tabuleh would be the obvious choice but we had it very recently. When I first met this particular recipe at padespani, I thought it would be impossible or, at the very least, too tricky to make. I’m talking about the Parmesan bowls.  I was intrigued, though, and combining a fresh parsley salad with crispy Parmesan sounded like a very good idea. The parsley salad is done independently so if the Parmesan bowls didn’t work, we would still have the salad. I gave it a try and, as it turned out, not only was it not tricky to make but it came out perfect!  Here’s my (modified) version of the recipe.

Recipe

Ingredients for the parsley salad

• 1 big bunch of parsley, chopped
• 2-3 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow or red pepper, cubed
• (optional) 1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon capers
• olives (pitted, sliced, about 8)
• (optional) 2 tablespoons of a hard, grated cheese

Ingredients for the vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
• salt, pepper to taste

Ingredients for the Parmesan bowls

• 2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan for each bowl

How to make the parsley salad: Wash, dry and chop the parsley. Wash, dry, and slice the spring onions. Rinse the peppers and remove all seeds. Cut the peppers in cubes. Combine all the salad ingredients.

How to make the vinaigrette:  Put all the dressing ingredients in a jar. Cover the jar with its lid and shake well. Alternatively, you can whisk them, use a food processor, or use a milk frother.

How to make the Parmesan bowls: In a medium size pan, spread 2-3 tablespoons of Parmesan, or enough to cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of Parmesan. Heat the Parmesan (medium heat) until it melts. Do not let it burn. As soon as it melts, remove the pan from the heat. Let the Parmesan cool until you can actually pick the edges with a spatula, 1-2 minutes. Use a spatula to lift the Parmesan sheet from the pan and place it over a small bowl which is turned upside down. The warm Parmesan sheet will take the shape of the bowl.  Let it cool off entirely. Repeat as needed.

Dress the parsley salad with the vinaigrette and serve in the Parmesan bowls. Yum!

Sept. 22nd, 2019

Mindful Eating Update: Prepare the parsley salad and enjoy it with whole wheat bread instead of the Parmesan bowl and/or have a very small piece of the Parmesan.