There seems to be a Salsa Verde for every culture with tasty food — French, Mexican, Italian. There is also Salsa Verde in German Cuisine.
That said, I read on Wikipedia that Salsa Verde began as a Roman dish — or it seems more accurately, a dish the Romans picked up along their travels. So, it seems, the Italian is likely the most original.
What is not original in my recipe is that I add basil, mostly because I make it at the end of the season when I could use to get rid of basil in any way. I generally do about half and half but if the garden has more of one or the other, the proportions change accordingly. Seriously, I doubt a Roman soldier would get all fussy about recipe purity — they likely used this recipe because it had a lot of green in it and when marauding new lands, green can be hard to come by — so neither should you get your undies in a bunch.
Once again, this is a freezer sauce I mix up and freeze in ice cube trays for later.
Ingredients
Vinegar
Dried Bread Cubes
Parsley
Basil
Capers
Garlic
Onion
Anchovies
Lemon Zest
Olive oil
Mustard, if needed
S & P
Method
- Soak bread in vinegar.
- When soaked, pour into food processor and add rest of the ingredients except olive oil and mustard. Pulse to break up.
- Then, start pouring in oil to emulsify.
- Season with mustard, salt and pepper.
- Freeze. (Defrost in a covered jar in the fridge rather than in saucepan.)
Uses
- Dress arugula for Bistecca ai Ferri con Rucola (sliced steak). Dollop some on top as well.
- With eggs!
