Italian “salsa verde” is very different from the pureed green stuff you pour into those little plastic cups and drizzle on your tacos. The Italian stuff is a briney, lemony and bright mixture with a wide variety of uses. In fact, Italian salsa verde is well suited to drizzle on simple grilled fish, roasted chicken or boiled meats in sandwiches.
I like to always have a little jar of this wonderful condiment in the fridge. Save your used anchovy jars to hold the salsa.
Makes one small jar.
Ingredients and Directions:
- 1 small bunch of Italian flat-leaf parsley, stems cut off and set aside to use in the stock
- 1 tablespoon of drained, brined capers (*)
- 2 oil-packed anchovy fillets (*)
- 1 or 2 peeled garlic cloves
- 1 small lemon
- Good quality extra virgin olive oil (this sauce is ALL about the olive oil quality)
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- Salt and pepper
(*)You can use salt-packed capers and anchovies instead. Soak them in water for 30 minutes, pat dry and use.
Special Equipment:
- A lemon juicer
- A small jar with a sealable lid
- Place the parsley, capers, anchovies and garlic on a cutting board and give them a medium chop. Precision is not important here but you want small chucks but not minced.
- Place the chopped ingredients in a small jar, add a pinch of crushed red peppers and juice the lemon into the jar.
- Add just enough extra virgin olive oil to just cover the ingredients. Close the jar and shake vigorously. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste (the anchovies and capers will have added a lot of salt already).
- Serve on your favorite roasted poultry, broiled fish or boiled meats!