Italian Gremolata

Method

Notes on the ingredients

• Parsley: Fresh parsley adds a clean, fresh, herbal note. Use flat leaf parsley, not the frilly stuff used for decoration, and wash it well. Most importantly, be sure it is completely dry before you start chopping it. If possible wash and dry it a few hours before you use it and then wrap it in a towel to absorb the last few drops of water. If the stems are thin and subtle, don’t worry too much about including them. If the stems are thick and tough, you’ll want to pluck the leaves. Chop the parsley as finely as possible.
• Garlic: Since the garlic is raw, you want it as fresh as possible. Old garlic will be yellow and sticky, often with a green shoot growing out, and it will smell strongly and slightly acrid. Fresh garlic will be white, plump, and while its scent will be unmistakably garlicky, it will still smell fresh.
• Lemon zest: The lemon zest adds zip and brightness. Make sure the lemon is organic, or, if not, the peel has been thoroughly washed in warm soapy water and rinsed to remove the wax coating.

Chop the parsley. Chop the parsley until it is just shy of being finely minced.

Add the garlic and lemon zest. Grate the garlic and lemon zest over the parsley

Finish the chopping while integrating the lemon and garlic into the mix. This method is better than just tossing the separately chopped items as it helps to blend the flavours throughout. You can go with a finely chopped gremolata, but sometimes a more rustic texture is called for. In that case, still grate the garlic and lemon zest but don’t chop the parsley as finely.