Salsa verde (green sauce) is a piquant sauce that is originally from northern Italy. It can be served with meat, fish or eggs. In today's recipe it is simply spooned over hard-boiled eggs. I like it with potatoes as well.
Salsa verde can be made without anchovies for vegetarians, and that's how I've presented it today. But to my mind, it's just not the same without anchovies, and I would always add them.
Use lemon juice to make the sauce when serving it with fish or eggs, or red-wine vinegar for meat. The arborio rice and red-pepper salad was inspired by my vegetable paella. Arborio rice makes a lovely, moist salad. The rice absorbs the flavours and the result is quite unlike the more usual fluffy rice salad.
I hope you will enjoy these colourful and tasty dishes during the summer season. They work well with the recipes in the recent Food and Wine annual. Thank you for joining me in the ''Vegetarian Kitchen'' last year. I have lots of interesting new recipes lined up for 2009. In the meantime, I hope you had a happy Christmas.
Send comments to dlampe@bigpond.net.au
Sal sa verde with eggs
Serves 6
9 free-range hard-boiled eggs, halved
Make a batch of salsa verde using lemon juice instead of vinegar. Vegetarians can leave the anchovies out. Arrange the eggs in a serving dish and spoon the sauce over them. If the eggs slide around, cut a slice off the bottoms or arrange them on rocket leaves.
Salsa verde (green sauce)
Make ahead of time to allow the flavours to mingle. Cornichons are pickled baby cucumbers. Salsa verde sometimes has fresh breadcrumbs, cooked potato or chopped hardboiled egg added to it.
1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley
a handful each of mint and basil (optional)
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp capers, rinsed
6 anchovy fillets (optional)
5 cornichons, rinsed (optional)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp lemon juice (or red-wine vinegar)
12 cup extra-virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salsa verde can be made in a food processor or chopped by hand, however the texture will be different. Wash the herbs and dry them well. Strip the leaves from the stems and place on a chopping board with the garlic, capers, anchovies and cornichons (if using). Roughly chop the ingredients and transfer to a food processor. Pulse-chop a few times and add the mustard, lemon juice (or vinegar) and seasoning. With the motor running, pour the olive oil through the feed tube. Process until smooth. To make the sauce by hand, chop the ingredients together as finely as you can. Place in a bowl and mix in the mustard, lemon juice (or vinegar) and seasoning. Whisk in the olive oil. Taste and adjust the balance of flavours. Salsa verde keeps well in a jar in the fridge. Pour a film of olive oil over the surface.
Arborio rice and red
pepper salad
To save time, use grilled capsicum, or peppers, from a jar or deli. A few artichoke hearts (preserved in oil) make a good addition to the salad.
Salsa verde with eggs
Serves 6
1-2 red peppers (capsicum)
125g green beans or 1 cup frozen peas
1 x 400g can of cannellini beans
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp sweet paprika
14 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups hot water or vegetable stock
1 punnet grape or cherry tomatoes
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
2 lemons cut into wedges (optional)
Dressing
1 medium tomato, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt, sugar and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
Make the dressing first using a hand-held blender or blender. Place the roughly cut tomato and other dressing ingredients into a jug or blender and blend to an emulsion. Taste and adjust for balance it will taste quite sharp. Add a squeeze of lemon or a splash of water, if you think it needs it. Preheat the oven to 200C to roast the capsicum. Rub them with olive oil and place on a baking tray. Roast on the top shelf of the oven until dark and blistered. If you prefer, the capsicum could be grilled turn until they are blackened all over. Place the hot capsicum in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave for 10 minutes. Then remove the skins, membranes and seeds. Cut into small squares (about 7mm). Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Plunge the beans in and cook for about four minutes. Drain and spread on a tea towel to cool. Top and tail the beans and cut into 2.5cm lengths. Drain the cannellini beans and rinse with boiling water. While warm, mix the beans with a little of the dressing. Heat a heavy-based saucepan with the olive oil and onion. Fry the onion until it is soft and starting to turn golden and add the garlic, tomato paste and paprika and cook for about a minute. Tip in the rice and stir until the grains are translucent and coated with oil. Pour the hot water or stock into the rice and let it come up to the boil. Stir once only and cover tightly. Turn the heat down as low as possible. I use a heat diffuser. Cook the rice undisturbed for 20 minutes the liquid will have been absorbed by then. Tip the cooked rice into a bowl and, while warm, pour on the dressing. It will be absorbed into the rice. Mix in the peppers and both types of beans (or frozen peas). At serving time cut the cherry tomatoes into halves and chop the parsley. Fold them through the rice. Taste the salad and season again if needed. Serve with lemon wedges.