Season: Spring - Fall
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Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium), sometimes called French parsley or garden chervil (to distinguish it from similar plants also called chervil), is a delicate annual herb related to parsley. It was formerly called myrhis due to its volatile oil with an aroma similar to the resinous substance myrrh. It is commonly used to season mild-flavoured dishes and is a constituent of the French herb mixture fines herbes.
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Mature Height
24 Inches |
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Mature Width
12 Inches |
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Light
Half Sun |
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Water
Moderate |
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Uses
Chervil is used, particularly in France, to season poultry, seafood, young spring vegetables (such as carrots), soups, and sauces. More delicate than parsley, it has a faint taste of liquorice or aniseed.
Chervil is one of the four traditional French fines herbes, along with tarragon, chives, and parsley, which are essential to French cooking.[10] Unlike the more pungent, robust herbs such as thyme and rosemary, which can take prolonged cooking, the fines herbes are added at the last minute, to salads, omelets, and soups.
According to some, slugs are attracted to chervil and the plant is sometimes used to bait them.
Chervil has had various uses in folk medicine. It was claimed to be useful as a digestive aid, for lowering high blood pressure, and, infused with vinegar, for curing hiccups. Besides its digestive properties, it is used as a mild stimulant.
Chervil has also been implicated in "strimmer dermatitis", another name for phytophotodermatitis, due to spray from weed trimmers and similar forms of contact. Other plants in the family Apiaceae can have similar effects.
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RECIPES
Bearnaise Sauce
PREP: 10 MINUTES COOK: 5 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
½ Cup Dry White Wine
2 Tbsp Tarragon Vinegar
2 Tbsp Shallots, Finely Chopped
½ Tsp Ground White Pepper
4 Fresh Sprigs of Tarragon, Finely Chopped
2 Fresh Sprigs of Chervil, Finely Chopped
2 Fresh Sprigs of Parsley, Finely Chopped
4 Egg Yolks
1 Cup Hot Melted Butter
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine the white wine, vinegar, shallots, white pepper, tarragon, chervil, and parsley in a small saucepan. Boil over medium-high heat until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Strain vinegar reduction into a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Bring several inches of water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat, then reduce heat to low or medium-low to maintain the water at a simmer.
3. Whisk the egg yolks into the vinegar reduction, then place the bowl over the simmering water.
4. Whisk constantly until the yolks have thickened and turned a pale lemon-yellow color. The mixture will form ribbons when the whisk is lifted from the bowl. Once the yolk has reached this point, remove the bowl from the simmering water.
5. Very slowly pour the hot butter into the egg yolk mixture while continuing to whisk vigorously. Do not stop whisking until all the butter is fully incorporated or the sauce will separate.
6. Serve immediately.
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Tarragon and Chervil Compound Butter
Ingredients
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) of unsalted butter (vegan butter works great too)
• 1 tbsp finely chopped tarragon
• 1 tbsp finely chopped chives
• 1 ½ tsp finely chopped chervil
• 1 ½ tsp finely chopped parsley
• flaky salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Place butter in a medium bowl. Cream with a fork and add tarragon, chives, chervil, and parsley. Mix thoroughly and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Mound butter on a piece of waxed paper, roll to form a cylinder or cake shape.
If you would like you can lay fresh herb leaves and edible flowers on the butter after you form the roll or cake and then recover the wax paper to press it into the butter. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. Slice to serve.
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