The garden has loved the wet spring we had here in Melbourne. Parsley has sprung up all over my garden and is just flourishing! Parsley often gets overlooked as just a garnish, but it is such a great seasonal green to eat. It’s has been cultivated for more than 2,000 years and is rich in iron and vitamins such as Vitamin C. Its a great nourishing green leafy veggie to get stuck into after the soups and stews we have been eating in the colder months.
Here’s a recipe I’m loving at the moment using fresh parsley from my garden. It’s easy to make and is fresh and filling. I’ve kept the amounts vague on purpose, so you can experiment with adding extra things or changing things up to your own taste.
Ingredients:
- 3-4 handfuls of parsley
- 2 tomatoes
- Quarter pumpkin
- 2 cloves garlic
- half cup of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- Half cup of raw almonds
- Juice of half a lemon
- Salt
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees
- Roast pumpkin pieces until roasted to your taste. I like when they are dark brown and almost caramelised.
- Put the almonds in towards the end of the pumpkin and roast them lightly. Careful not to burn the almonds. They don’t need long
- Rinse and chop parsley, place in large bowl
- Dice tomatoes, add to parsley
- Mash the garlic in mortar and pestle, add a little salt to help make it smooth. Or just dice finely if you don’t have a mortar and pestle.
- Place garlic into a mug, add the olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the mug and mix.
- Place the pumpkin and almonds in with the parsley and tomato, mix
- Pour over the dressing and enjoy!
By Trent Wrightson, Naturopath.
