accented properly: salsa verde

One of the things that has always bugged me about Giada DeLaurentiis is her affinity for saying very Italian words in the middle of a very English sentence in very exaggerated Italian.

“And today, I am going to make a special “REE-GAA-tone-ay!” pasta with a chunky “bol-ohn-YAY-SAY!” and some homemade “ree-GOAT-AH!” cheese….and for dessert, a delicious spread of homemade “BEES-GOHT-ay!” cookies and a very special “ah-mah-REY-TEY!” coffee surprise!”

I mean, I get it. I do. You were born in Italy. You speak fluent Italian.  You were probably brought up eating amazing and authentic Italian food, and you can undoubtably homemade “ree-GOAT-AH” me under the table any day.  But forcing words in that grating and over-enunciated-know-it-all way makes you sound like you should be slanging pies at Grimaldi’s, not explaining how to properly layer a veggie lasagna to a mostly American crowd.

Don’t get me wrong – I love Grimaldi’s, I love Italian accents, and I am all about not dumbing things down for any uncultured American ears.  But the sudden and jerky interspersal of tricked out Italian words in the middle of a calm and non-accented sentence just doesn’t jive with me.

Then last week, I made salsa verde.  And I can never make fun of Giada again.

“We are having ‘SAL-sahhh VERRR-day!’ tonight!” is all that came out of my gab, over and over…and over again.  It’s just so fun to say! Why deadpan the boring “why yes dear, we are having some green herb salsa over scallops this evening” when you can have “SAL-sahhh VERRR-DAY!” time?!

However you say it, this is good. So good in fact, it literally takes anything you can throw at it – fish, pork, veal, lamb, beef, chicken, or even vegetables – and totally transforms it into something dinner-party-worthy with almost no effort at all.  It’s bright and fresh from the herbs and the lemon, silky and decadent from the olive oil, and has this total ‘what IS that?!” dimension from the salty anchovy (which, I promise does not add even a hint of fishiness).  The best part about this is that it’s totally perfect for those ‘clean out the fridge days’ – you can sub in any herbs you wish (rosemary, cilantro, thyme, and basil are all excellent additions) to vary the results.

I love tarragon and scallops together, and after blending up my bright green salsa (VERRR-day! yea….can’t help that.)  I let it hang out in the fridge for a half hour to allow all of the flavors to marry and meld.  I marinated some fat sea scallops in a touch of lemon juice and garlic, and tossed them on the grill to sear for about 3 minutes on each side – just until they had a nice slight char and were barely opaque.  Although this sauce is good on almost anything, the bright summery flavors go particularly well with a cold glass of white wine and grilled seafood.

So Giada, I’m sorry. Haters gonna hate, and I still wish you would teach me about your new ‘spaghetti with red-sauce’ dish instead of getting all “spa-ghet-TEE-NI rrro-OHH-soh!!” on me, but I’m starting to pick up what you are layin’ down. I think.

 

Tarragon & Chive Salsa Verde
Makes about ½ cup

½ cup roughly chopped chives
½ cup roughly chopped tarragon leaves
⅓ cup olive oil + extra as needed
2 Tbsp caper berries
1 anchovy filet, packed in oil
1 small clove garlic
Juice & Zest of one lemon
Sea salt

In the bowl of a small food processor (or using a mortar and pestle – process detailed here) add the anchovy, garlic, and capers.  Pulse to blend, until the mixture forms into a thick paste.  When it is just mixed, add in the fresh herbs and lemon juice.  Process to combine until the herbs are in chunky pieces and integrated well with the paste (you will have a bright green chunky concoction). Finally, add the olive oil in small increments, processing between each addition until fully incorporated, until you have a thick green slightly chunky emulsion.

Place to the side to let the flavors meld, at least 30 minutes.  Serve over fish, chicken, vegetables, pork, steak – anything! I grilled up some fat sea scallops marinated in garlic, lemon, and olive oil (2 minutes each side over high heat on a gas grill) and it was pure, summery, green, fresh, heaven.