Italian Salsa Verde - Delicious Green Sauce For Meat, Fish, And Vegetables

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If you missed it, this is not the Mexican salsa verde recipe made with tomatillos. This is the real deal Italian version that lifts up almost any dish to new heights. Classy, sexy and delicious. Perfect for you to slather all over a fat ribeye steak, pork belly, grilled vegetables or whole bbq fish.

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• Ingredients needed
• How to make it
• Variations
• Serving suggestions
• Other recipes you might like
• Useful equipment for this recipe
• Italian Salsa Verde
• Nutrition Facts

The world has many green sauce recipes or, salsa verde recipes to be more culinarily trendy than I could mention in a single post. 

I have three favourites though:

• Chimichurri
• Salsa verde 
• Gremolata 

Each of those is slightly different from each other yet also very similar, but they all have one thing in common. They are extremely delicious sauces made with mostly herbs, olive oil, garlic, some sort of acid and sometimes heat(like chilli in chimichurri).

The green herbs mixed the pungent fresh garlic, zingy lemon and spicy olive oil will take any dish roasted, grilled, steamed or fried to a level associated with top restaurants. 

The best thing about it all is that you can easily make salsa verde at home from scratch, using no fancy tools and everyday ingredients. 

Ingredients needed

You can make this recipe for salsa verde with or without anchovies as to make it vegan or not. The choice is yours.

• Herbs - It goes without saying but, they need to be as fresh as a sprouting spring upon the hills.
• Capers - Any size will do. We are blending it.
• Anchovies - Good quality in oil. If you making a vegan version. Yes, you know. Don't add it.
• Lemon - We need the zest so, get unwaxed lemons.
• Olive oil - A nice grassy green version. Not too bitter.
• Gherkins - Any will do. If you want to be next level you use homemade Lacto fermented cucumbers. Otherwise, just buy it from a shop.
• Mustard - I like grainy Dijon but, you can also use smooth Dijon mustard.
• Seasoning - As always, salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

How to make it

Told you this is easy but just watch. Any recipe for salsa verde should be quick and easy and this one delivers on the promise.

1. Wash your herbs and pick them off the main stalks. The smaller tender stalks are fine and actually add more flavour and bulk.
2. If you own a blender then make it work. and add the ingredients roughly chopped into the blender along with the oil, seasoning, mustard, lemon zest and lemon juice. Blend till fairly smooth and you're done. Simple as that. And yes, taste it. Adjust if you want with more seasoning and lemon juice.
3. If you do this by hand and don’t own a blender, then you will chop the herbs, capers, anchovies, and gherkins as finely as you humanly can. Add the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, mustard and seasoning. Mixy-mixy and you're done. Obviously give it a taste to see if you want it more salty or sour.
4. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 6 months for use in the future.

Now you never have to buy store-bought salsa verde again. Homemade is the only way forward.

Variations

You could make a few subtle changes your salsa verde but, stay classy and simple with this recipe.

• Herbs - You can play around with the herbs a bit but don't go crazy. Sometimes a bit of cilantro is good especially if you have this with something like whole grilled fish.
• Heat - Add chopped chilli, tabasco or your own fermented hot sauce.
• Aromatics - Crushed garlic is a good one to add, and that's where it ends)
• Vegan - To make this recipe vegan you simply leave out the anchovies and it's good for spreading on all your favourite vegan stuff.

Serving suggestions

I'm not going to write a bible on where you could use this salsa verde recipe but, below are a few of my favourite uses for this delicious green sauce.

• Meats - If your mouth is not watering yet then think, crispy pork belly on the fire, ribeye steak, lamb chops on the barbecue, or succulent fall-off-the-bone roasted leg of lamb. Bland cuts of meats get a full flavour injection from this sauce. Imagine salsa verde chicken or pork chops lubed up green, zingy and bright. Bam! That's flavour!
• Fish - With any fish. Raw, poached, steamed, fried, grilled. You name it. Like with pan-fried salmon fillet, as an alternative cure for sea bass crudo or with some home salted salmon gravlax on a toasted piece of sourdough bread with cream cheese or soft ricotta.
• Vegetables - Make bland vegetables like broccoli, steamed spinach or bok choy extremely delicious. Add to creamy mashed potatoes, toss with boiled baby potatoes or use instead of tapenade on these roasted Romano peppers. Drizzle over this Moroccan zaalouk or mix through this couscous salad to make something extremely delicious even better.
• Others - Alongside other dips like guacamole or pea and mint hummus. Perfect to scoop up with crispy tacos.

Other recipes you might like

If you like Italian food or just love eating well and cooking real food from scratch then you will love the following recipes.

• Burst tomato pasta with parsley and mozzarella
• 2 Ingredient homemade pasta dough
• Classic Caesar salad
• Parmesan shortbread
• Easy marinated olives

Useful equipment for this recipe

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