What isn’t better with zest? I have long been a fan of zest and extra salt in baked goods. In fact, zest and salt are the secret ingredients in my apple pie.
For savory dishes I throw garlic into the lemon and salt mix. Everything I taste I think, “You know what would make this better?” Some people just aren’t that into zest, and that’s cool, but I put zest (and garlic, and salt) on just about everything these days. I recently put diced zest and garlic into my potato salad and it was fantastic. The bright clean flavor of the zest, tempered by salt, is irresistible.
Italian salsa verde will get a little zest in your meal. Simple and delicious, with the requisite bright flavor, this sauce is amazing for its depth and freshness. We particularly like it for roasted meat and fish, but it is fantastic with potatoes, bread, bread salad, hamburgers, squash, simple salads — pretty much anything. This is an elegant and versatile recipe to have in your arsenal for the approaching summer food season.
Capers, anchovies and cornichons are frequent additions to salsa verde; if you’d like to add them use a tablespoon or two. You can freely substitute any kind of herb(s) for all or part of the parsley; good choices would be chives, basil, or cilantro.
If you do not have a mortar and pestle simply reduce ingredients to a fine dice and whisk with a fork, or use a blender or food processor (be sure not to over-process).
Salsa Verde (adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters)
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
1 clove garlic smashed and diced
zest of 1 lemon, finely diced or grated
teaspoon good salt
1/2 cup olive oil
squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
Combine garlic and parsley in a mortar and smash with pestle. Add the zest and continue to smash. Throw in the salt, add the olive oil and optional lemon. Adjust seasoning, remove from mortar, whisk to emulsify, and serve.
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