My husband, an architect, always says he plants trees around his mistakes. I always say I place parsley around my culinary mistakes.

For many of us, parsley is just a curly green garnish that’s on the plate for appearance. Why bother to eat it? And for that matter, why bother to buy a bunch?

But parsley offers much more than mere ornamentation. Its vibrant color and grassy flavor make it a great addition to most any savory dish.

It adds balance to dishes the way a little pinch of sugar or salt can make something just taste better.

Many of us are familiar with using parsley in bouquet garni (an herb package) used in French cuisine, in gremolata (mixture of parsley and grated lemon rind), in salsa verde of Italy and in Lebanon’s national dish tabbouleh (a salad of parsley and bulgur wheat).

When used as a main ingredient, parsley can seem surprisingly new. It blends well with other herbs, such as chervil, chives and mint. In addition to parsley’s flavor, you get a healthy hit of vitamin A and C, calcium, beta carotene and minerals.