Did you know that you can actually get fresh parsley, called perjil in Spanish, for free in many fruit and vegetable shops and even butchers in Spain?
Firstly, it’s important to know that you won’t get parsley for free everywhere in Spain. In fact in big supermarkets, they sell it in packets and if you try and ask for it for free, they might look at you as though you’re crazy.
It also only works for fresh parsley, not the small jars of the dried herb.
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To find it for free, you need to go to the small fruit and vegetable or grocery stores, they even have it for free in some butchers and fishmongers.
They key is that it’s not advertised and the parsley isn’t kept out on the shop floor for you to grab a bunch, you have to ask for it when you go to pay.
You can simply say ¿Tiene perejil gratis? (Do you have free parsley?) or “Ponme un poco de perejil, por favor” (please give me a little bit of parsley).
The shopkeeper will then grab you a small handful and add it to the rest of your shopping, completely free of charge.
Be aware, it won’t be enough parsley to last you a several meals, it’s usually only a small amount, enough for one dish. But hey, it’s free, and you can always go back and ask for more next time you shop.
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So, does that mean I can get other herbs for free in Spain too?
Unfortunately, no. Other fresh herbs such as mint, coriander and basil are not free in these small shops. They sell them in packets on the shop floor that you have to pay for.
So why is this the case? Why is only parsley free?
According to gastronomic journalist and writer Mikel López Iturriaga who writes the Aló Comidista advice column in El País, “Parsely is like a weed that grows quickly without any care or effort, and that's why it's given away. Of course, that principle could be applied almost the same way to mint, but that does cost money. I suppose it's a matter of tradition,” he explains.
So next time you’re at the vegetable shop or fishmongers, why not give it a try and see if your local will give it to you for free.
Some classic Spanish dishes that use parsley are merluza en salsa verde (hake in a green parsley sauce) or almejas (clams) in a similar parsley sauce, albóndigas (meatballs), buñuelos de bacalao (cod fritters) tortillitas de camarones (shrimp fritters) and many types of grilled fish and other types of seafood.
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