Unusual Vegetable Plants

Hamburg Parsley - Root Parsley - Petroselinum Crispum Tuberosum

Hamburg Parsley is almost unheard of here in the U.K. but is very popular in Eastern Europe and is also widely grown elsewhere. This type of Parsley is really a root vegetables and not grown for it's leaves as it's name suggests, although its stronger flavoured 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 and the roots don’t really need to be “Frosted,” to make them sweeter, nor do they have the typical “Core,” of a mature Parsnip. 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, but plants will need protection from Rabbits as they love to eat the leaves.

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.

Seeds of "Root Parsley," tend to germinate a little more readily than ordinary parsley, or Parsnips, that can both be a little temperamental. There are many varieties of Root Parsley grown around Europe and beyond, but only a few are available here in the U.K. with the Czechoslovakian variety “Atika,” being the most readily available.