Celery Leaf Salsa Verde

I would bet a good chocolate cake that when most of us hear the words “Salsa Verde” we think of the amazing blend of tomatillos, lime, jalapeños and salt that runs wild across our fantasies of dunking chips and street taco bliss.  My inner Latina girl highly approves of this conjured version.

But before there were tomatillos in salsa, there was the Italian version of salsa – meaning literally sauce.  Actually, I just made that fact up for dramatic effect.  I have no idea which salsa verde came first – the old world version or the new.

Italian salsa verde is a parsly/onion/garlic concoction similar to the Argentine Chimichuri and used as a condiment for meat, specifically steak.  One of our favorite restaurants Niche here in the Salty City serves a version over roasted sweet potatoes.  You could also tuck it under the skin of a whole chicken before you roast it.

I got the original Salsa Verde Recipe from the lovely Tamar Adler’s book An Everlasting Meal.  This book serves as my food inspiration on a regular basis and is the perfect read if you ever find yourself in a food rut.

In my version I like to add the tang of Celery leaves (from the department of not wasting anything).  It adds some depth, a surprising flavor and some salt that takes it to the next level.

Celery Leaf Italian Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Celery Leaves & Fine Stems, chopped extra fine
• 1 cup Italian Parsley, chopped extra fine
• 1 Shallot, chopped fine
• 3 tablespoons Wine Vinegar
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Anchovy Paste
• 1 tablespoon Capers, chopped
•  Olive Oil to cover
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

 Method:

Make sure that the celery leaves are chopped to the same consistency, blend them together and take a deep breath of all that vegetal goodness.  Set them aside.

Put the shallot in a jar with a tight fitting lid – I use these guys from IKEA, but you could also use a weck jar or a ball canning jar.  Add the vinegar and a sprinkle of kosher salt to the jar, seal and give it a good shake.  Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to ever so slightly pickle the shallot (and take some of the bite out of it).  After 10 minutes, drain the vinegar.

Meanwhile, mince your garlic or put it through a garlic press.  My favorite way to avoid chopping my fingers off is with my trusty garlic press and slicer.   Because let’s tell the truth here – my knives seem hell bent to end my fingers.

Add the garlic, anchovy paste, a bit more salt and the capers to the jar and give it a good mix.  Then add the celery leaf/parsley blend and give it a good stir.  Add enough olive oil to just come to the top of the mixture and stir it all again.

Now a brief interlude to talk about anchovy paste. I know that your gut reaction was “Ewwww” to anchovy bit.  I heard you through the internet. The anchovy paste in this recipe, as in others, adds a nice salinity with a touch of fresh ocean – not the dead fish smell that just wafted past your brain.  You can make this recipe without it, but please, please give it a try. It makes the recipe better and your food tastier for it.

Dip you spoon in and give it a taste.  Does it need more salt? More pepper? More anchovy?  Follow your bliss and add away.

Serve over roasted or boiled meats.  Top oven baked veggies.

Some other thoughts:

For Salad Dressing: Mix in some lemon juice and water with 2 tablespoons of the salsa verde and shake well.  Toss with your favorite salad.

On Eggs:  Mix with some extra lemon juice and spoon on top of hard boiled eggs.  Stuff inside a fluffy omelet with slices of a hard cheese.  Use a spoonful or two with or in lieu of mayonnaise in an egg salad sandwich.

As a Tapanade: chop a cup or so of some mixed olives or garbanzo beans, or white beans or pickles or a combination of any of these and mix into the salsa verde for instant tapanade

-Lydia, Italian Parsley Advocate