Unusual Vegetable Plants

Hamburg Parsley is really a root vegetables and not grown for it's leaves as it's name suggests, although it its leaves can be used in the same way as ordinary Parsley, hence the name. In fact it looks very similar to and grows very much like a Parsnip, but it is said to be better flavoured. The great benefit of growing this vegetable and indeed most other root vegetables, is that they can easily be kept, in fact if you want to, you can actually leave Hamburg Parsley in the ground all over Winter and only get them up when you need them to eat. Alternatively you can of course harvest Hamburg Parsley from November onwards.

It is traditional to peel root vegetables, even though current thinking says that much of the goodness is in the skins and this is one vegetable that is best with its roots simply scrubbed before cooking. If you do cut or dice Hamburg Parsley the cut surfaces will quickly go brown in the air, so should be boiled/cooked straight away. Lemon juice will help prevent this from happening, as it will with other vegetables and can enhance the flavour a little. Root vegetables used to nearly always be boiled and then sometimes mashed, with butter and chopped leaves of something like mint, to give them a little taste. More and more are now often served roasted, as better, tastier varieties are being cultivated. Parsnips though, are one of the few vegetables that have nearly always been served roasted or fried as chips and Hamburg Parsley should be treated likewise.