ITALIAN SALSA VERDE

Salsa verde can be found in many countries but this is the version one most commonly finds in Italy. It’s delicious served on roast beef or pork, which is how Italians tend to eat it. I like it on fish or chicken. It’s also often spread on a panino stuffed with meat or salami or marinated vegetables. In the video, I was making a gigantic portion, which I then put in jars to give to friends and family but this a smaller quantity for four people. Guido went overboard with the amount on his chicken but generally you just add a little on top.

The original recipe uses raw garlic but if you’re worried about digestion or bad breath, I would try roasting the garlic first, as I find this always sweetens the flavour and leaves less digestive aggravation.

As I mentioned in the video, you could just blend all these ingredients in a blender but I prefer a more textured result where it’s all chopped by hand. I guess you could blend half and keep half rough and thick, although I’ve never tried it myself.

INGREDIENTS:

130g fresh parsley (leaves after cutting away the stalks)

1-2 cloves garlic

4 anchovies

1 tablespoon capers (with the salt washed off if they come in salt)

2 egg yolks

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

80g stale bread

150-200g olive oil

Zest of one lemon

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

Pepper

Salt

METHOD:

1. While the eggs are boiling in water, finely chop garlic, parsley, anchovies, capers and lemon zest.
2. Cut the bread roughly and soak it in the white wine vinegar. You can squeeze it in your fist to soften the bread and break it down to breadcrumbs like the second shot of the bread in the video.
3. Peel the eggs, remove the yolks and chop them finely. You can save the boiled whites to add to a yummy salad another time.
4. Mix all chopped ingredients, including the egg yolks and bread. Cover with enough olive oil to almost completely cover the mixture, or at least make it wet but not submerged in oil. See the video for the ideal texture.
5. Add chilli, salt and pepper. I didn’t specify how much salt because you’ll really need to keep tasting it to check the saltiness of your capers and anchovies.
6. Leave for about two hours at room temperature for all the flavours to enhance each other. If you store it in the fridge, be sure to give it a good stir and let the olive oil soften up before serving. Enjoy!