parsley in pizza

Pizza Shop Talk The Think Tank
1

I plan to make a “white” pizza with ricotta cheese, no tomato sauce, and use parsley in it.
Anybody have experience with parsley, flat or curly. fresh or dried ?
Otis

2

Yes…
It tends to burn and shrivel if placed on top off the cheese. You could place it under the cheese but I’m guessing your using the parsley for presentation. Yes? If so… wait until it comes out of the oven and place it on top while the pie is still bubbling.

3

I would “nix” the parsley…

We add 2 C. to 2# of ricotta & 2 oz. portion cup of black pepper…the H2O makes it easy to spread on the skin & the pepper “kicks it up a notch”…

IMHBAO

if you were 2 use parsley, use dried, as fresh will “weep” and turn the mixture into “Leprechaun” sauce

4

thanks for the advice about the dried parsley
I may put a sprig of fresh parsley after baking in the center for aroma and presentation,
the recipe that I roughl go by is from Grande, the link below

I think mixed with the ricotta, the dried would be better, it is a bit watery with fresh,
Otis

    [http://www.grandecheese.com/RecipeDetai ... RecipeID=1](http://www.grandecheese.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?RecipeID=1)
5

the parm is a nice touch…

forgot 2 mention, we use a garlic/oil/spice mixture before applying the ricotta mix…I would still recommend the H2O - 4 spreadability…

we top all our pies w/a parm/spice mix prior to baking…

6

Hey Otis - I would go with dry parsley when the pizza comes out of the oven. It usually comes with a built in shaker. Parsley really doesn’t add much flavor though. Mostly it is a garnish that offsets the whiteness of the white pizza.

Fresh is hard to keep all the time unless you are growing it yourself. That might not be such a bad idea though. Having a hanger you can hang a parsley plant or two off your trailer that you can grab to decorate your pie could look pretty cool. It is an easy plant to care for as well. I didn’t know what to do with mine after a while because they got so big.

7

We mix dried parsley into the ricotta, and t comes out fine. Not as ‘fresh’ and green tasting as achopped fresh, but it does a good job.

8

thanks to all on the parsley, a real help to me,

I am going to get some of those hanging containers and put some parsley and other herbs I can garnish with to hang around my “alfresco” dining tent,
Otis

9

you could add the parsley to the ricotta mix, but if you use fresh parsley besure to wash it after cutting it. To do this you simply put your cut parsley in a clean white cloth and twist it up in the towel, run it under cold water and squeeze all the water out. This takes all the Chlorophyl out which will greatly effect the taste.

10

I have a problem with the statement that parsley doesn’t add flavor.

I would use Italian/flat leaf and use it fresh as the pie comes out. dried parsley is about worthless in my opinion. Curly is a pretty clse second.

For ease of distributions here is a trick we use in the restaurants I have worked at. Mince up the rinsed parsley and put it in a cloth napkin or rag and run it under water, then ring it dry. Do this a couple of times and it dries out the parsley enough to be sprinkled on things.If you want a bold look, chop your parsley to order as the by comes out, bigger pieces and less uniformity, giving bigger pieces for flavor bursts.

Just my $.02

John

11

appreciate all the parsely/ricotta information

Anybody ever add anything different to this “white pizza”, like mint ?

Otis

12

Ya’ know, adding a little water to the cheese would make our method work a little easier as well. We use a “wide mouth” squeeze bottle since it is easier to fill, and cut the tip a bit larger than normal. Then, we squueze uot a spiral on the crust to make a pretty pattern and get good coverage.