It is that time of the year, the old year is waning and the new one has yet to peep from under the covers. The nights are getting longer and....it feels like time for a harvest moon feast. Just a tiny one, because I have a Human Structure and Physiology test tomorrow and a Human Nutrition 2 assignment due next week, but still, come with me to the veggie patch and we will see what inspires.
What do we have here? Okay, our first lemon for the year off the tree, some garlic (not mine) and some sorrel, parsley, both flat and curly, some young thistle leaves, a nice whack of basil, chives both regular and garlic, and some cress. Hmmm. I think I feel a salsa verde coming on!
Salsa verde just means a fresh, green sauce and it is a very versatile thing, make sure your herbs are harmonious and you can really not go wrong.
Ingredients
1 cup of firmly packed green herbs
4 fat cloves of garlic,
juice of one lemon
1 heaped tablespoon of capers
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 cup of pepitas
1 tablespoon sesame seed
4 tablespoons olive oil
Pop all of those things in a high powered blender or food processor (I used my NutriBullet) and give them a good whiz. You can also do this by hand with a mortar and pestle if you want to work up forearms like Popeye, or chop everything very finely and mix if you want a chunky version.
This is a very beautiful sauce to have on roasted potatoes, salmon, chicken, steak, lamb, prawns, legumes. It is a bit of an all rounder actually and just look at those ingredients! Isn’t that just health in a bowl???
For myself, as I am singing
Shine on, shine on harvest moon,
Up in the sky,
I ain’t had no lovin since,
January, February, June or July...
So I am going to have a seasonal baked salad, and this salsa verde will drizzle over that perfectly.