Salsa verde, anchovy and all
Sharp, briny and green. The Italian one, not the tomatillo one.
At a Glance
Story
This is the Italian salsa verde, the traditional partner to bollito misto, the grand northern platter of boiled meats, where a sharp green sauce is exactly what all that richness wants. It has nothing to do with the Mexican tomatillo salsa verde beyond the name. The anchovies do not read as fish here, they melt into the parsley and turn the whole thing savory and deep, which is why you leave them in.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped (leaves and tender stems, tightly packed)
- 2 tbsp capersdrained and chopped
- 4 anchovy filletsminced (optional, but they are the point)
- 1 clove garlicgrated
- ½ lemonjuiced
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and black pepper
Method
A sauce for people who think their steak is finished. It is chop and stir, no heat, and it makes almost anything off the grill taste like you tried harder than you did.
- Pile the chopped parsley, capers, anchovies and grated garlic into a bowl. Grating the garlic rather than chopping it keeps any raw hot bite from spiking the sauce later.
- Stir in the lemon juice and vinegar, then pour in the olive oil and mix to a loose, spoonable green. Season with salt, going easy, the capers and anchovies are already salty, and plenty of black pepper.
- Let it sit 10 minutes before serving so the flavors settle into each other. It keeps in the fridge for a few days and only gets better on day two. Spoon it over steak, grilled chicken, shrimp or roast potatoes, or dredge crusty bread straight through it.
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