Update (Dec. 3, 2019): This article originally stated that Christopher Kimball founded Milk Street Café. This is incorrect.
I had the good fortune to attend the Nov. 13 WHYY event with Christopher Kimball.
He is a celebrity chef — though he would doubtless hate that term — who founded Cook’s Magazine and is the star of Milk Street Radio and Milk Street Television. Known for his wry wit and signature bowtie, Kimball was an entertaining and engaging speaker who presented his latest cookbook, “The New Rules,” to a packed house.
The book is founded on 75 rules for cooking that claim to “change the way you cook.” Without listing all of them here, his rules for using fresh herbs as greens really resonated with me, and I have adopted that in my kitchen of late.
His advice was to take handfuls, not pinches, when using most fresh herbs — parsley, dill, basil, cilantro, sorrel. He did not recommend handfuls of sage or rosemary, which have stronger flavors and would dominate the dish too much.
With that in mind (and one night when my lettuce ran short) I created this simple parsley-centric salad. It was delicious, refreshing and has now joined the regular rotation.
New Rules Parsley Salad
Serves 2
- 2-3 cups your favorite lettuce, rinsed well
- 1 large handful fresh, flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
- 1 carrot, shredded using vegetable peeler
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Generous pinch kosher salt
- Generous sprinkle fresh cracked pepper
- Scant sprinkle garlic powder
- 1½ tablespoons good-quality olive oil
In a salad bowl, place the lettuce, parsley and carrots.
Sprinkle the remaining ingredients directly onto the salad and toss.
Serve immediately.
