A Simple Herb Sauce
Bright and sharp. One of those things in the fridge that makes everything else better.
Every cuisine has a green sauce. Sometimes it’s chopped by hand, sometimes pounded, sometimes blended smooth. Chimichurri, salsa verde, gremolata, pistou, zhoug, herbed yogurt, green chutney. Different names, different ratios, same instinct.
A green sauce restores balance. Cooked food, especially grilled or roasted food, loves contrast. It brings freshness to rich dishes, gives direction to simple ones, and makes plates feel finished.
This is the version I keep coming back to. Not because it is traditional or fixed, but because it is adaptable. The herbs change with the season. The texture depends on how you cut it.
Once you understand the recipe, you stop following it and start building the sauce from what you have and love. That is when it becomes something you actually use, not just something you make once.
A Simple Herb Sauce
Makes 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
70 g herbs of choice (parsley, cilantro, mint, tarragon, chives, basil)
15 g capers, rinsed, drained, and very finely chopped
1 small garlic clove (or ½ large), crushed to a paste
5 g (1 tsp) Dijon mustard
20 ml fresh lemon juice
10 ml (2 tsp) red or white wine vinegar
100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
½ anchovy fillet, rinsed, drained and mashed to a paste
METHOD
Pile the herbs on a board and finely chop with a sharp knife.
Transfer the herbs to a bowl and fold in the capers, garlic paste, and anchovy paste, if using.
Add the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and vinegar. While stirring continuously, drizzle in the olive oil in a thin stream. The sauce should become glossy, not thick or creamy.
Finish with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Allow the sauce to rest for 10–15 minutes before serving so the flavors can come together.
Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature and stir before using.
To keep the color vibrant, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the sauce.
Make or Break
You can use a mortar and pestle or a blender. Knife or mortar gives brightness and texture. A blender creates a more emulsified and spoonable texture. If blending, pulse briefly so you stay in control of the texture.
Add acid before oil so the acid can penetrate and sharpen the greens. Oil coats the herbs. Once coated, acid can no longer penetrate. Acid opens the door. Oil locks it in.
How to Use It
– With grilled chicken, lamb, steak or fish
– Over roasted vegetables
– With omelets
– Swirled into yogurt or labneh
– As a cold sauce for raw vegetables
– Excellent with lentils, chickpeas, or white beans
