Italian Salsa Verde

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Sharp chef's knife
• •Large cutting board
• •Medium mixing bowl
• •Microplane or fine grater

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the capers

   If using salt-packed capers, soak them in cool water for fifteen to twenty minutes, then rinse and pat dry. Salt-packed capers have a firmer texture and cleaner flavor than the brined kind. They taste of the flower bud, not the vinegar bath. If you can only find brined capers, rinse them well and skip the soaking.

   Salt-packed capers from Pantelleria or Sicily are worth seeking out. They have a floral, almost mustard-like quality that disappears in lesser versions.
2. 2

   Chop the parsley

   Gather the parsley leaves and tender stems into a tight bundle. Use a sharp knife to chop them finely but not obsessively. You want texture, not paste. The leaves should still be recognizable as parsley, just in smaller pieces. Work quickly so the herbs do not bruise and darken.

3. 3

   Prepare the pungent base

   Chop the drained capers roughly. Mince the anchovies until they nearly dissolve into a paste. Grate the garlic on a microplane or mince it very finely. These three ingredients form the salty, briny backbone of the sauce. The anchovy should disappear into the whole, adding depth without announcing itself.

4. 4

   Combine and dress

   In a medium bowl, combine the chopped parsley, capers, anchovy paste, and garlic. Add the vinegar and stir to distribute. Pour in the olive oil gradually, stirring as you go. The sauce should be loose enough to spoon but thick with herbs. Add salt sparingly, the anchovies and capers contribute plenty. Grind in black pepper to taste.

   Taste before salting. Between the capers and anchovies, you may need none at all.
5. 5

   Add brightness if desired

   If using mint, chop it finely and fold it in now. The mint adds a cooling note that works especially well with lamb. Stir in the lemon zest if you want extra brightness. Let the sauce rest at room temperature for at least ten minutes before serving. This allows the flavors to marry and the raw edge of the garlic to mellow.

6. 6

   Adjust and serve

   Taste again. Adjust the vinegar if you want more sharpness, the oil if you want more richness. The sauce should be bright and punchy, capable of cutting through the richness of grilled meat or fish. Serve at room temperature, spooned generously over whatever you have cooked. Stir before each serving, as the oil will rise.

Chef Tips

• •Buy parsley from farmers who cut it the same morning. Supermarket parsley that has traveled across the country will never have the same vibrancy. If you grow your own, even better.
• •The quality of your olive oil matters here more than almost anywhere else. Use something you would happily drink from a spoon. Grassy, peppery, alive.
• •Salt-packed capers require soaking but reward you with cleaner flavor. They taste like capers. Brined capers taste like the brine.
• •Anchovies should be a secret. If someone can identify them in the finished sauce, you have used too many. They provide depth, not fishiness.
• •Make this sauce the day you plan to use it. The parsley stays brightest when freshly chopped. By day two, the color dulls and the flavor flattens.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce is best made within a few hours of serving, but it will hold refrigerated for up to two days. Bring to room temperature and stir well before using.
• •Capers can be soaked and drained up to a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
• •If making ahead for a dinner party, chop the parsley and prep the other ingredients separately, then combine just before guests arrive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 25g)