Your go to sauce this summer: salsa verde
Eat Plentiful #48
Hello and welcome to Eat Plentiful, if you’ve landed on this page by pure miracle and have not subscribed yet, let me help you with that.
It’s been two weeks since we last spoke, and I think spacing the newsletter out was a good idea. Distance does make the heart grow fonder, I’m excited to slip into your inbox again.
I was thinking about motherhood this week; the good thing that came out of motherhood, other than having an actual child, is that it pushed me towards journey of self-discovery. For so long I defined myself by my job, that when I did not have a job, I wasn't too sure who I was anymore. Whilst reading, listening, researching, getting coaching, one of the recurrent answers to finding myself was to find my purpose and finding my why. As I looked left and right, I had the feeling everyone seemed to know why they had been put on planet earth. I also learned looking left and right’s always a bad idea. Firstly, most of it is an illusion and secondly, almost everyone is still figuring stuff out as they go along.
I’ve come to terms that my quest to find my purpose is ongoing and it's a happy one. I'm enjoying the journey and not rushing it. Perhaps, I’ve also been searching for such a grandiose purpose, that I missed the obvious fact it could be as basic as enjoying the simple things and bringing happiness to those around me. And what better way to do that than through food.
So here I am, and although I do still have uncertainties, there are also things I know for sure. I know what my my values are, I know what makes me happy, I know I am loved, and I definitely know I do not like Mc Donald’s. I also know salsa verde is one of my favourite sauces out there, it is transformative and it’s easy to make. It works with pretty much anything: fish, meat or vegetables. Woody and I made a big batch at the start of the week, and he literally ate it by the spoon. ‘ I want green sauce’ he said all week so we finished the pot. I am sharing with you two of the recipes with did with it.
Salsa Verde
Ingredients
1 garlic clove
2 big handfuls of fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch of fresh basil, picked
1 handful of fresh mint, picked
1 small handful of capers
1 small handful of gherkins, in sweet vinegar
5 anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
8 tablespoons really good extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to season
Instructions
Either you’re a purist and chop everything by hand, it’s easy and satisfying. Or you go for the easy way and throw it all in the blender, pulses only though, you don’t want it to be smooth.
If you cutting bye hand, finely chop the capers, gherkins and anchovies and place in a bowl.
Add the mustard and vinegar, then slowly stir in the oil until you achieve the right consistency. Season with a crack of black pepper and salt.
Taste and don’t hesitate to add more of how you want yours, oil, vinegar etc…it’s supposed to be punchy and fresh.
Salmon tray bake
For 2 people
Cook time:45 mins
What you will like about this one is it’s all cooked in one tray, no mountain of washing up to clean after cooking. It may take a little longer than your 15 mins weeknight meal but it’s very hands off, so in the meantime you can work, give the kids a bath or just sit an do anything. It’s healthy option which everyone will love. Woody took part in the entire process from making the salsa verde to cutting the potatoes, and he enjoyed eating every bit of it.
Ingredients
Salmon filet, approx 250gr
1 fennel bulb, sliced lengthwise (1cm width)
200gr potatoes, sliced in 1 cm discs
5-8 asparagus and or/ sprouting broccoli
1 lemon, finely sliced
Olive oil
salt and pepper
Salsa verde
Instructions
Heat oven to 220C/fan. Tip the potatoes, fennel, lemon and 1 tbsp of olive oil into an an ovenproof, large enough to welcome everyone, then roast for 25 mins. Lemon and fennel taste delicious slightly charred so don’t be afraid to let them brown nicely.
Toss the asparagus/ broccoli in, then return to the oven for 10 mins.
Nestle the salmon amongst the vegetables. Drizzle with the remaining oil and return to the oven for a final 10-15 mins until the salmon is cooked.
Serve on a plate with a good serving of salsa verde.
Crispy chicken pita
For 2 people
Cook time: 10 mins
That was an absolute banger, I made it twice for lunch this week, using the never ending salsa verde, and remaining fennel I had. It required a little more prep than your basic ham & cheese sandwich but it was worth it. It has all the ingredients that make a good sandwich: something crunchy, something saucy, something juicy and something softy.
Ingredients
2 deboned chicken breast with skin on
2 pita breads
1 gem lettuce
1 fennel bulb, very finely sliced
3 tbsp of tahini
Any type of gherkin juice/ pickle juice you have lying around your fridge
1 Lemon
Salsa verde
Instructions
Salt the chicken skin side up generous, heat a pan and cook skin side down on high heat for 5 mins. Reduce the heat, flip over and cook for another 5 mins until cooked through. Let them rest on a board.
In a small mixing bowl, add the fennel, lemon juice and olive oil and mix well
In another mixing bowl add the tahini and stir in the pickle juice, until you get a nice smooth consistency.
Dampen your pita bread with some water and pop it in the toaster.
Slice up the chicken breasts.
Alright you’re ready to assemble. If you’re making this for a few people, let them make them themselves and just serve all the ingredients on the table.
Slice your pita in two, open it up, add a good spoonful of the tahini mix, some salad leaves, chicken, followers by the fennel, a good spoonful of salsa verde and some more tahini sauce for good measure.
It’s a good one, you’ll be licking your fingers until there’s nothing left. You could also serve it as a salad. Dress the gem lettuce and fennel with the salsa verde and some olive oil, add the sliced chicken and pita bread and top wit the tahini mixture.
Hope you enjoy these as recipes much as the journey you’re on.
Until next time x