recipe - tried and tested - Salsa verde recipe - nigel.txt

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# Nigel Slater's classic salsa verde recipe

Literally "green sauce", this cold accompaniment is made from olive oil, parsley, capers and garlic. Known as the sauce to serve with Italian boiled meats, it is also appropriate with everything from grilled seafood to baked tomatoes. Several European countries have their own version, but the best known is the Italian. Some recipes are chunky, others blitzed to a purée, but all have that deep green, piquant quality.

# Ingredients

flat parsley

basil

capers

anchovy fillets

garlic

lemon juice OR red wine vinegar

olive oil

mustard (optional)

# The recipe

Chop a good handful of flat parsley and the same of basil, add a tbsp of capers, 6 anchovy fillets, a single clove of garlic, a tbsp of lemon juice or slightly less of red-wine vinegar. Beat in enough olive oil (about 8 tbsp) to make a thick, slushy sauce. I also add a little mustard. It will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for a day.

# The trick

Older recipes usually produce a coarser result, with the ingredients being chopped by hand rather than put through a processor or blender. A processor works well if you use it with care. Choose your method according to the time available. Chopping by hand often results in a darker colour that is preferred by many. More than any other sauce, this is a question of balance, so taste as you go. My own recipe holds back a bit on the garlic, but much depends on what it is intended to accompany. I find it best to chop the parsley first – it gives the sauce body – then add the other ingredients, tasting as you go.

# The twist

Emphasise the ingredients you like. I prefer more basil than in most classic recipes, others may like theirs with lemon juice instead of vinegar. Omit the anchovies for a vegetarian version. A favourite twist of mine is to use a little rosemary and red-wine vinegar and serve it with roast lamb. In which case it will need a pinch of sugar, too.

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