Green Goodness

Fresh herbs are vibrantly colourful, pack a real flavour punch and take an every day dish up a notch. Many cuisine styles have their own version of a green sauce – the Italians have salsa verde, the Argentinians chimichurri, the Germans Grüne Soße, the French sauce verte au pain.

The basic recipe dates back some 2,000 years old, when Roman legionaries brought it to Italy. From there it was exported to France and Germany. The German style uses a different mix of herbs, as the Mediterranean herbs in the other versions were not available in Germany at the time.

All green sauces are cold, rustic and mixed by hand. Some are used to adorn fish, others red meat, but they are all quick to prepare and an excellent addition to your culinary repertoire. In some recipes, cubed bread is soaked in vinegar and blended with the other ingredients, which creates an emulsion somewhat similar to a vinaigrette. In other regions, there is no bread.

Here is Jamie Oliver’s take on salsa verde:

1½-2 cloves garlic , peeled
1 small handful capers
1 small handful gherkins pickled in sweet vinegar
6 anchovy fillets
2 large handfuls flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
1 bunch fresh basil , leaves picked
1 handful fresh mint , leaves picked
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
8 tablespoons really good extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Simply chop or blitz all ingredient together and enjoy over your favourite grilled protein or dipped in crusty bread.