Salsa Verde
My Italian grandmother – Nonna – used to make a delicious
Salsa Verde. This translates rather boringly to Green Sauce. It was so good
that I used to eat it by the spoonful.
I tried to make it a few times but was always disappointed with
the results, without being able to pinpoint why.
So I went back to her original recipe – which is in the book
of handwritten recipes I inherited after her death a few years back.
All was revealed. I had been adding the garlic to the mix,
which overpowered the other, more subtle ingredients. Her recipe tells you to
steep the chopped garlic in the vinegar then discard it. This give a far more subtle
flavour to the sauce.
Happily I have loads of parsley in my allotment right now,
so I’m eating salsa verde with everything, and being transported back to my grandmother’s
side with each mouthful.
A big bunch of flat leaf parsley
Vinegar
Garlic
Capers
Anchovies
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Put the vinegar in a bowl with the chopped garlic.
Blitz the parsley with the capers and anchovies it a food
processor until finely chopped. Add the vinegar – discarding the garlic - the
salt and pepper, then blend in the olive oil.
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