France — classical French cooking; particularly associated with Provençal and Lyonnaise traditions
Persillade is the French equivalent of gremolata — a simple mixture of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and garlic that is used as both a finishing herb mixture and a crust element in French cooking. Where gremolata includes lemon zest and is always used raw at the moment of service, persillade can be used raw, cooked into a sauce, or combined with breadcrumbs to form a crust. As a finishing herb mix, persillade is stirred into hot pan juices just before serving — the residual heat wilts the parsley slightly and tames the rawness of the garlic while preserving their fresh character. This technique is common in simple sautéed dishes: mushrooms à la persillade, provençale tomatoes, lamb chops, and pan-fried potatoes all benefit from a handful of persillade at the last moment. As a crust (persillade de chapelure), the parsley and garlic are combined with breadcrumbs, olive oil, and sometimes a little mustard. This mixture is pressed onto the surface of a joint of meat or a fish fillet and roasted or grilled until the crumbs are golden and the persillade is fragrant. The Provençal version adds thyme and rosemary to the mix. Persillade is also one of the components of sauce ravigote, gribiche, and various French herb vinaigrettes. The proportion of garlic to parsley is always the cook's judgement — more garlic for strongly flavoured meats, less for delicate fish. The parsley should always be flat-leaf; curly parsley lacks the flavour for a proper persillade.
Pungent garlic, fresh parsley — simple, direct, versatile
Use flat-leaf parsley only — curly parsley is inadequate in flavour and texture Chop together (garlic and parsley in a single pile) so that their oils mingle as they're cut The heat of the pan tames garlic when added at the last minute — but do not add too early or the garlic will burn For a crust, the breadcrumbs should be fresh (not dried) for the best texture Balance the ratio of garlic to parsley according to the dish's intensity
Add a little lemon zest to the persillade for a touch of Milanese character (gremolata style) For a persillade crust on lamb, add dried thyme and Dijon mustard to the breadcrumb mixture The back of a large knife used in a rocking motion produces a finer persillade than a vertical chop A teaspoon of persillade stirred into butter at the end of cooking vegetables brightens any dish Persillade works beautifully with escargot (the classic garlic-butter combination for baked snails is essentially enriched persillade)
Adding persillade to a cold pan — it needs the heat of the pan to wilt slightly and release its aroma Using curly parsley — it has little flavour and a tough texture when raw Crusting too thickly — a thin, even layer of persillade crust cooks more evenly and crisps better Using pre-chopped or dried parsley — no substitute works for fresh flat-leaf Over-processing in a food processor — the herbs become a paste rather than a chop, losing texture