Organic Per-Cel - Parsley Celery

The Per-cel (Apium graveolens seclinum), as its name suggests, is a plant resulting from the cross-breeding of parsley, from which it inherited hardiness and the curly aspect of the foliage and celery, which bestowed upon it its unique aroma. Its stems and leaves can be consumed raw or cooked in soups, Asian cuisine, and all simmered dishes. The root can also be cooked like a carrot or parsnip. Per-cel can be planted all year round, except in July-August, for a harvest as needed. Like parsley, it is a biennial plant that does not disappear in winter but develops into a more generous clump. Some seeds can be left to produce for resowing in early spring.

Parsley and celery belong to the Apiaceae family (formerly Umbelliferae) and are genetically close enough to be crossed and produce fertile offspring like Per-cel, capable of producing viable seeds. Its life cycle is biennial: the plant sprouts and develops into a clump in the first year, retains its foliage during the following winter, and then prepares to flower in its second year. Flowering and seed production marks the end of its life. It is a very aromatic plant in all its parts. Its foliage is a beautiful glossy green, composed of flat, undulate and heavily cut leaves, carried by fleshy and channelled stalks or petioles, hollow on the inside and not very fibrous. Flowering occurs in the summer of the second year, taking the form of umbels of white-yellow-greenish flowers that are highly visited by pollinating insects. Per-cel develops an elongated edible root called a pivot, fragrant and yellowish, resembling a carrot.

In terms of cooking, Per-cel is used to replace parsley and celery in culinary preparations. It is cultivated for its leaves and stalks, which can be cut as needed, and for its roots. The leaves and stalks can be consumed raw, for example, in salads or with raw vegetables, or cooked in omelettes, vegetable dishes, fish en papillote, dishes in sauce, stews, and soups. They can even be candied with sugar, like Angelica. The root can be cooked to accompany other vegetables or used to make a soup. Per-cel leaves resemble parsley and perfectly flavoured bouquet garni, soups, or simmered dishes. They are rich in vitamins and minerals and low in calories. The plant has culinary, diuretic, hypoglycemic, aphrodisiac, and digestive properties.

In the vegetable garden, plant Per-cel in a sunny spot, in loose, well-drained soil enriched with organic fertiliser, which remains fresh even in summer. It is a hardy plant that can reach 25 to 35 cm (10 to 14in) in height (60 cm (24in) when flowering). It can be grown in a large pot on a balcony or terrace.

Harvest: Pick the leaves at the base as needed, as long as the plant is not flowering. As for the root, it is harvested in autumn and before the first frost in the first year of cultivation. Dig up the roots and let them dry on the ground for a day, then cut the leaves above the collar and the rootlets.

Gardener's tip: To reduce watering, we recommend mulching the soil with thin successive layers of grass clippings, if possible mixed with dead leaves, starting from the end of May. This protection, which keeps the soil moist, also reduces weeding.