Recipe and Photos by Nadia Tamby

Bunches of herbs always seem to go bad unless you have a specific need for them. Even then, you’re often left with too many. I always think I’ll keep them and use them for something else and they end up getting brown in the fridge. On a side note, if you are going to store your herbs for longer, I recommend washing them and then drying them in a clean kitchen towel (just roll them up gently), then placing the damp towel of herbs in a container or Ziploc bag. Anyway – back to the recipe. This sauce takes all of 5 minutes to make and you don’t need to fully dry or chop the herbs first (as long as you have a food processor or blender). If you are only equipped with a knife and cutting board, finely chop the herbs and garlic and you will have something more similar to chimichurri. Somehow whenever I chop a large bunch of herbs they seem to go in every direction off the cutting board so I like skipping the chopping step! This is a great way to use up all your leftover herbs. This sauce is delicious as a marinade, used to top grilled fish or meat, can be diluted with more olive oil and lemon juice to make a salad dressing, or swirled into hummus or yogurt to make dips.

I have made many different versions of this “green sauce” but it is generally a combination of green herbs, raw garlic cloves, salt and olive oil and a splash of lemon juice or vinegar.



Ingredients

Any combination of these herbs (use the equivalent of 2 bunches for this recipe):

• 1 bunch of cilantro (just tear off the bottom part of the stems, you can use cilantro stems in addition to the leaves)
• 1 bunch of mint (discard stems)
• 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley (discard stems)
• 1 bunch basil (discard stems)
• 1 bunch of oregano (discard stems)
• Thyme and rosemary can be used as well, but use sparingly – they are strongly flavored and will overpower the other herbs
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ cup vegetable, olive oil, or extra virgin olive oil (or more, if needed)
• ½ lemon (juice and zest) or 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, or rice vinegar
• Salt and pepper, to taste (about ½ teaspoon salt)
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 teaspoon honey (optional)

Instructions:

Combine the Sauce Verte ingredients into a food processor and blend until you have a smooth, bright green sauce. I spoon this into a jar and top it with an extra bit of olive oil to prevent it from oxidizing and turning brown. It will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge.



Some serving ideas:

Roasted or grilled lamb chops or lamb meatballs with a mint-heavy sauce verte (you could add rosemary to this too), and maybe even swirled into yogurt as a sauce.

Fish served with a sauce verte made with cilantro, lime juice and zest, garlic, honey, and fish sauce (instead of salt).

Grilled steak and vegetable with traditional chimichurri (parsley, oregano, crushed red pepper, red wine vinegar, and garlic). Chop the herbs finely and whisk ingredients together.

Green goddess dressing: basil, parsley, and tarragon as the herbs and blend it with a few tablespoons of Greek yogurt and mayonnaise. Use it as a dipping sauce or thin it out with more olive oil and lemon juice to use as a salad dressing.