Salsa Verde | Comfort Foods with Ruth Reichl

I’m bringing salsa verde this week. Let me explain. I’ve had a phenomenal six months cooking along with Ruth Reichl at IHCC. To me, the comfort foods she highlights in My Kitchen Year are very compelling. She tells the story of how 136 recipes have saved her life. By all accounts, that was a difficult period following an abrupt end to her decade-long career as the editor-in-chief at Gourmet magazine.

By and large, you’d find some of these sustaining comfort foods in this space that’d help you forget whatever ails you. See the picture below for details.

In addition, there is a huge collection of recipes, in the thousands, which Ruth Reichl has brought to us via the Gourmet cookbooks. All in all, the breadth and reach of her contribution are immense. How do I thank her for the most delicious and diverse recipes she has curated for us? Since spring is right around the corner, I choose a salsa verde to celebrate a fresh new beginning. And we wish her well.

In my mind, a painstakingly chopped salsa verde elevates every protein dish, whether it’s meat or seafood for dinner. Every dish benefits from the freshness and brightness of a salsa verde. I have been getting into the habit of chopping up some herbs, or whatever I have on hand. Then add some minced shallots and garlic, together with olive oil and seasoning to round out the flavors. Furthermore, you have the perfect opportunity to reach into the spice pantry. Pick up some cumin, sumac or mustard seeds, whatever your whims at the time take you. For acid, lemon or vinegar will get the job done. Essentially, a touch of green of the salsa verde, like the spring shoots on the trees and grounds, invariably enlivens the world around it.

Ruth puts it this way: “I think of salsa verde as parsley’s bid for lasting fame. Here the little sprig, rarely more than a disposable decoration, has its shining moment. Put this salsa on steak and watch it sing. Serve it with raw tomatoes, with grilled eggplant, or on a plate of scrambled eggs. A single spoonful has the kick and crunch to bring a summer meal together, and this time of year I always have some sitting in my fridge, ready to rescue a dull meal.”

Ruth has a way with words and her advice is spot on, as always!

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Dishes I’ve cooked along with Ruth Reichl in the last six months

Print Recipe

Salsa Verde

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 bunch flatleaf Italian parsley
• 2 shallots
• red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup capers, rinsed and soaked
• 3 cloves of garlic
• ½ cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
• half a lemon
• high quality extra-virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

1

Wash your parsley and pick the leaves until you accumulate a small mountain on your cutting board. In the words of Fergus Henderson, “discipline” your parsley by running your knife repeatedly through the pile. You want a fine chop, but be careful not to mash. Set aside.

2

Peel and chop your shallots extremely fine and cover with red wine vinegar. Drain and chop your capers. Peel and mince the garlic. Cut your lemon in half. Mise-en-place complete: prepare to assemble!

3

Beginning with your parsley, add half of the shallots, half the capers, all the garlic and almonds, and toss. Taste the mixture for salt and acid, and continue to add shallots and capers accordingly, bearing in mind that the capers will significantly raise the salt-content.

4

Douse the entire salsa in olive oil, stirring it into a shimmering green pool, and adjust the seasoning with a squeeze of lemon to brighten the flavors, salt and pepper if necessary. Some like it soupier – I prefer mine more rustic,

5

It's ready to eat now, but it will be even better tomorrow, when the the flavors have had a chance to get better acquainted.

Notes

Adapted from My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl