By Mackenzie Smith

Like most of the volumes in my collection of Short Stack Editions, a couple of the recipes from Lemons, by Alison Roman, have been fully integrated into my repertoire of things I make over and over again. Roman’s whole lemon salsa verde is at the tip-top of that list. With olive oil, garlic, fresh herbs and a whole lemon, this zippy condiment snazzes up our weekly red beans and rice, brightens our turkey at Thanksgiving, makes a plain ol’ fried egg fancy and roasted vegetables sing, and it’s my #1 favorite topping for pizza after it comes out of the oven (or arrives at our door). Roman also suggests using this as a marinade for roasted chicken, a dressing for rice, and a dip for flatbread. Anywhere garlic and olive oil would be good, this verde wins.

The first time I made this recipe, I followed the instructions to a tee. These days, I know I’m going to want more than what the original recipe yields, so my version makes about 3 cups instead of 1 and a half, and I have managed to pack in even more green into this adaptation. Chances are, you will also find a way to make this one your own. When you do, take Roman’s original words of wisdom with you: “The key to using the whole lemon is removing all the seeds before finely chopping it: that’s where most of the bitterness comes from (you’ll still get a little from the rind, but that’s ok and even good)”.



Whole Lemon Salsa Verde

• 1 whole lemon, all seeds removed, finely chopped
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1½ cup olive oil
• 3 cups parsley, very finely chopped
• 1 cup cilantro, very finely chopped
• ½ cup finely chopped other herbs such as mint, tarragon, thyme, or dill (any or all)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Measure olive oil into a large bowl and whisk in garlic and scallions to infuse oil. Stir chopped lemon into the oil, then chop your herbs. Mix everything together and season with salt and pepper.