Tags
Accompaniments, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Grüne Soße, green sauce, Healthy Recipes, Herbs, Kurt Cobain, Paleo, Salsa Verde, sauce verte, Sauces, Sides, The Best Salsa Verde Recipe, vegetarian
I won’t eat anything green. (Kurt Cobain)
This post is not for Kurt Cobain.
You know how sometimes you hit the jack-pot and find a recipe that just works? One that you keep going back to, because every time you make it, someone asks you to write the recipe down for them? THIS is one of those recipes.
The Italian Salsa Verde, a.k.a ‘green sauce’, is actually the name of several different sauces containing mainly herbs. The French call it sauce verte, the Spanish salsa verde and the German Grüne Soße or Frankfurter Grie Soß.
Whatever you choose to call it, this recipe totally rocks. And, its versatile. Serve it over grilled beef? – check. Lamb? – yep. Chicken? – definitely. Tuna – duh. Eggs? – yum. Potatoes? – how very German of you! Roasted veggies? – sublime. Almost anything, really. Well – maybe not ice cream!
The real beauty of this recipe is that you throw everything together – herbs and all. It’s not an exact science. If you don’t have quite enough basil, sub in a bit more mint…
And, one other thing. Full disclosure – this recipe has anchovies. Me, I love anchovies. But, my sister is the anti-anchovy girl. She can smell an anchovy at 60 paces. And, even she has given this salsa verde her tick of approval*.
So, what’s in it?
Knock Their Socks Off Salsa Verde
Ingredients
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
a handful of capers
a handful of cornichons
6 x anchovy fillets
1 x large bunch (about a couple of big handfuls) flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
1 x medium bunch (about a decent handful) of fresh basil, leaves picked
1/2 a bunch (about a handful) of fresh mint, leaves picked
1 x tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 x tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 – 7 x tablespoons best quality extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Method
First up, unless the herbs are picked fresh from your pesticide-free garden, wash the them thoroughly to get rid of any nasties. I find my salad spinner works well to dry them. Alternatively, gently dry between a couple of sheets of paper towels.
Finely chop the herbs and place them into a bowl. Chop the garlic, capers, gherkins, anchovies and add them to the herbs. Add the mustard and vinegar, stir and then a few tablespoons of olive oil and check the taste. Add a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, a pinch of good salt and a little more vinegar, if needed.
* to be fair, I should let you know that when I made this for my sister, I used the Grace Kelly of anchovies. Ortiz anchovies. Not exactly the cheapest anchovy option.
I am loving the new direction and focus of your blog. Will be trying out the sublime recipe tonight.
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You won’t regret it, M. Promise!
Possibly the smallest member of your tribe won’t thank me…
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perfect timing Syd, I bought a pot of basil yesterday, have great anchovies and just took a chicken breast out for dinner tonight. Perfect!!
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MOST excellent! We had ours with barbecued chicken breast last night.
Do let me know what you think?
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If your recipe is as good as your timing (I needed this NOW), then we’ll be happy chappies chez nous…
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Mmmm – sounds delicious!
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Brilliant!! Thanks.
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This looks great. I have a huge supply of mint, parsley and basil from my herb garden and no place to use them.
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LOVE this salsa verde! I have used it in so many ways and it always tastes awesome.
I was wondering if it can be frozen? Would love to makes a big batch … to avoid running out!
Thanks for this recipe!
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Hi Angela – I have never even considered freezing this baby. It’s worth considering… (and, if you do – please let me know how it turns out!)
I’m happy to hear you love it as much as I do. I have a very good buddy in NZ who swears by this recipe!
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