Vibrant green and packed with flavor, Italian Salsa Verde is one of Diva's favorite. When you see Italian Salsa Verde -- it is easy to mistake it for pesto, but the absence of nuts and cheese and its fresh acidic tang marks the sauce in decidedly different ways.
To be honest, Diva seems to make it different every time -- depending on which fresh herbs are handy and more of one or another, but the formula basically remains the same: Fresh herbs, anchovy fillets, red wine vinegar, garlic, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. There are times Diva adds scallions to the mix, uses less garlic and may add only one anchovy fillet instead of two, but however you make it -- it will add the "wow" flavor to your dish.
Diva loves to serve it over grilled skirt steak marinated in olive oil, garlic, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, the juices of lemon, lime and orange and the zests of the citrus used as well. Grilled Skirt Steak with Italian Salsa Verde is always a success for any party Diva has. It's also great with shrimp, fish, grilled chicken, grilled veggies and grilled tofu. Yesterday, Diva used it as a spread in the Roasted Chicken Sandwiches with arugula, provolone and tomatoes she made for son's baseball game picnic. Once again, Italian Salsa Verde came to the flavor rescue.
Here is the version Diva made yesterday:
Italian Salsa Verde Recipe
2 cups Italian parsley, roughly chopped
2 cups basil, roughly chopped
1 cup mint, roughly chopped
2 fillets, anchovy
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tbs. red wine vinegar
1 tbs. lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Place all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are finely minced. With processor running, slowly add olive oil until salsa verde is thick and emulsified. Adjust sea salt and pepper, if needed. Enjoy!
