Green sauces/pestos/pastes are one of my all time favourites to have in the fridge. Great to add to a meal for added flavour & to increase herbs & greens intake.
Call it Pesto or salsa verde, a green herby paste is so versatile great with cheese, on toast, with eggs, or meat & roast vegetables.
I've been making it for years originally as pesto, but I quickly changed the traditional basil, pinenut & parmesan pesto years ago for parsley, walnuts & without cheese. Why, it is much cheaper, parsley is available all year round & reducing dairy is sometimes important for me or those around me. These days a make my version of salsa verde, using any green herbs available. Each one is unique as I use whatever is available & try to use whats in my garden as much as I can.
It's a great way to sneak extra herbs into people, so I usually put a handful of dandelion leaves in. Dandelions are great bitters, which assist our liver with detoxification processes & assist digestion. They are very bitter so not nice to eat on their own, but no-one notices them in a salsa verde. I have too much fennel & mint growing also so usually add some of those to bulk it out & save money. They also add lovely flavours. Fennel & mint are both great for digestive support.
You can make this entirely with basil, or coriander or parsley if you prefer or have them available. You can also add water to make it a thinner dressing, but it won't last as long in the fridge. Save the parsley stalks for a stock, pop them in the freezer for later use.
You can make Salsa Verde from any green herbs.
Here is my basic version
Salsa Verde
1 bunch of parsley roughly chopped
1 bunch of other greens; coriander, spinach, kale (stalks removed), mint, fennel, dandelion leaves, basil
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
zest & juice of 1 lemon or lime (2 if small)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp capers
3 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1-2 tsp mustard
1/2 cup Nuts or seeds of choice; walnits, pumpkin seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds
Salt & pepper to taste (need a reasonable amount of salt 1-2 tsp)
Optional extras
Gerkins 4-6 roughly chopped
Parmesan
Seaweed; karengo is a good option, increase nutrients
Brewer's yeast for alternative to cheese & added nutrients
Turmeric for added nutrients & inflammation support
Place all on a food processor & blend until smooth.
Taste to check flavour, you made need extra; olive oil for texture, vinegar or lemon juice for acidic, salt & pepper for taste.
Store in the fridge covered for up to a week.
Enjoy
