Salsa Verde – a piquant green sauce
Bunches of fresh herbs at the farmers market always tempt me to buy. Like beautiful posies of fresh flowers I am tempted to put them in jars on the kitchen bench just to admire their beauty, but of course it’s their lively flavours I really love and like alchemy, fresh herbs enhance the most mundane food. More subtle than a relish or pickle, Salsa Verde adds piquancy to steamed chicken and fish or vegetables and eggs, and like Basil Pesto it can be frozen in small portions to preserve the fresh herbal flavours into the cooler months.
SALSA VERDE
1 large bunch parsley, about 350 g
1 bunch fresh basil, about 100g leaves only
1 x 40g jar anchovies in oil, drained
3 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 slice dense white bread (optional – sauce will be thinner without the bread)
3-4 tablespoons white wine vinegar or lemon juice
100ml, maybe more olive oil
Remove the thicker stems from the parsley and strip the leaves from the basil. Wash thoroughly and dry. I use a salad spinner. Process all the ingredients except the oil together in the blender. Once everything is finely chopped add the oil in a thin stream to make a smooth sauce. If it is too thick add extra oil.
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11 comments on “Salsa Verde – a piquant green sauce”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
Oh Salsa Verde, how I adore you. And the fact that you used herbs from the farmers market is such a win. Yay! ❤
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I like to spoil myself with fresh food, I just love buying from the Farmers Markets, I feel so virtuous when I do. 😀
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How would you recommend would be the best way to preserve herbs? I live in the country side in Japan at the moment and it’s hard to find them here or grow them so I usually buy in bulk when I’m in the city or ask a friend to bring some when they visit. Could I possibly freeze them, do they keep, or they’re easily susceptible to freezer burn? :O
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I wouldn’t freeze any herbs without first processing them to a paste, or making pesto with nuts and garlic. Basil and coriander work well this method. Freeze in small batches. There is some loss of flavour unfortunately. Oregano, thyme are perfect dried if they are not too old. Good luck with it. 😉
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Thank you for the info! Will get on it 🙂
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Yummy!
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Sure is!
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This looks delicious! Beautiful photography as well! xo
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Thanks, it’s quite luscious
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