Persillade: the homemade recipe, by knife or food processor

Persillade is a mixture of finely chopped parsley and garlic, added at the end of cooking to flavour sautéed potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes or fish. To make it successfully, allow one bunch of flat-leaf parsley to two cloves of garlic, well-dried parsley and short chopping, by knife or chopper. It takes five minutes to prepare and keeps for a few days in the fridge.

This guide details the composition, step-by-step recipe, sauce and herb butter, dishes it is suitable for and mistakes that turn persillade into green mush. If you prepare it often, a small appliance will save you time: our models are gathered in the electric mini chopper collection.

What is the composition of a persillade?

The base consists of only two ingredients, to which a third is sometimes added. This is what distinguishes it from parsley alone: parsley is an herb, persillade is a mixture of parsley and garlic.

• Parsley: flat-leaf is preferable, more flavourful and easier to chop than curly parsley. Allow one bunch, or about 30 g of leaves and tender stems.
• Garlic: two cloves per bunch, three if you like it strong. Remove the green germ if there is one, as it is more acrid.
• Optional: a finely chopped shallot for a milder version, or a drizzle of olive oil to bind it.

Salt and pepper are generally added to the dish rather than to the persillade itself. To choose the tool that chops herbs best, our guide which chopper to choose for parsley and fresh herbs compares manual and electric solutions.

How to make a persillade?

The recipe is the same regardless of the tool: clean and dry parsley, garlic chopped first, then the parsley. Only the chopping technique changes.

The proportions follow the composition seen above. Well-dried parsley and pulse chopping are explained just below, and adding it at the end of cooking and storage a little further down.

Step-by-step recipe

1. Wash the parsley, then dry it thoroughly in a salad spinner and with a tea towel: damp parsley sticks to the blade and turns into mush.
2. Strip it, keeping the tender stems, which are more flavourful than the thick ones at the bottom.
3. Peel the garlic cloves, cut them in half and remove the germ.
4. Finely chop the garlic, then add the parsley and chop everything together until you obtain fine but still distinct strands.
5. Use the persillade immediately, or cover it and keep it in the refrigerator.

By knife, chopper or garlic press: which tool to choose

Each tool gives a slightly different texture. The table helps you choose according to your quantities and equipment.

With a chopper, work in one-second pulses: two or three for the garlic, then four to six after adding the parsley, scraping the bowl in between. The two-bowl electric mini chopper of 100 and 250 ml is a good example: the small bowl for the garlic alone, the large one for the parsley, in one or two batches depending on the size of the bunch. For garlic only, the models in our garlic press and garlic chopper collection, twist, cord or press, avoid taking out an electric appliance. Our parsley chopper guide details how to choose yours.

How to make a persillade sauce?

Persillade sauce is a persillade bound with oil, served raw. It accompanies grilled meats, roasted vegetables and fish.

For one bunch of chopped parsley with two cloves of garlic, add 6 to 8 tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper. Mix with a spoon rather than the chopper, to keep visible strands. Let it rest for 15 minutes before serving: the garlic and parsley flavour the oil. A pinch of chili or cumin brings it closer to Maghreb green sauces.

Persillade with butter

Herb butter is the other great variant. Mix with a fork 125 g of softened butter with two chopped garlic cloves, two tablespoons of chopped parsley and a pinch of salt. Roll it into a log in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to then slice it into rounds. It melts on grilled meat, steamed fish, steamed vegetables or a slice of toast. It freezes very well, which allows you to prepare a roll in advance.

What can you do with persillade?

Persillade enhances almost all savoury dishes, provided you add it at the right time. Here are the most common uses:

• sautéed potatoes: add the persillade in the last two minutes of cooking, off the heat if the pan is very hot;
• pan-fried mushrooms, for which it is the classic seasoning;
• Provençal tomatoes: persillade and breadcrumbs on half tomatoes, then in the oven;
• fish: mixed with a zest of lemon, it is sprinkled over grilled or oven-baked fillet;
• grilled meats and beef burgers, at the time of serving;
• roasted vegetables, green beans and zucchini at the top.

For Provençal tomatoes or a gratin, our homemade breadcrumbs with a chopper recipe mixes directly with the persillade: we obtain a golden and flavourful crust.

Store persillade and avoid mistakes

A persillade is preferably prepared at the last moment, but it keeps for a while. A few precautions prevent it from turning black or losing its flavour.

• In the refrigerator: in a closed jar, use it within 2 to 3 days. Covered with oil, it is kept only in the refrigerator, never at room temperature, and consumed within 4 days.
• In the freezer: distribute it in an ice cube tray, covered with a little olive oil, and use the cubes within 3 months.
• Do not cook it for long: garlic burns quickly and becomes bitter. It is added at the end of cooking.
• Do not chop continuously: the parsley heats up, turns black and turns into paste.
• Do not chop wet parsley: it is the main cause of mushy persillade.

The right tool for a successful persillade

For an occasional persillade, a good knife is enough. If you make it every week, an electric mini chopper saves the most time: a 250 ml bowl processes a bunch in one or two batches, and pulse chopping keeps distinct strands. Without electricity, a cord chopper gives a similar result in a few pulls. To compare capacities, corded or rechargeable, browse our electric mini chopper collection.

To discover all our other appliances, go to hachoir-cuisine.fr.