Thursday, January 26, 2017

Salsa Verde au Noir #recipe from Linda Wiken, Author @LWiken




I needed a fast and easy sauce to serve over baked salmon filets on the weekend. Key words here -- fast, easy and tasty.


Out came the cookbooks and there I found a Salsa Verde recipe in David Leibovitz's My Paris Kitchen, which appeared to fill all the requirements. The only problem was a usual one for me – I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand. So, necessity being the mother of invention and all that, here’s my take on a Salsa Verde which borders on noir since black olives were one of my substitutions.


Not having the pitted and chopped green olives the recipe called for, I substituted 1/3 c. of already sliced black olives. That seemed like the right amount for the output I needed and besides, that was all I had on hand.

I decided to substitute a lime for the lemon because I really like the taste of lime. But then I couldn’t decide. So I let the mixture sit for an hour to soak up the flavors, then tested two small portions, one with lemon, one with lime. Lemon won out. This time.

The recipe also called for a fresh herb mixture. What I had on hand was rosemary from my lush indoor/outdoor plant, some thyme, and some sage. Since rosemary and thyme can be quite pronounced in flavor, I cut back those portions and in the end with what was more like ½ c. herbs.

It's one of those recipes where you can have fun adding whatever tickles your fancy, or what you have on hand. By the way, what you see here is a halved version of the original recipe. 




What you'll need: 

1/2 c. coarsely chopped fresh herbs
3 tbsp olive oil, can add more if needed
1/3 c. black olives, pitted and chopped
1 1/2 tsp. capers, rinsed then squeezed dry and chopped
1 small peeled and minced garlic clove
2 green onions, finely chopped
zest of 1/2 lemon
pinch of salt (I  used Himalayan)
freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste







What to do: 

Do the necessary chopping of ingredients and then combine everything in a small bowl.

Let sit for 1 hour to ensure the flavors mix and the mixture thickens. It should be a thick but somewhat runny paste. If you'd like it less thick, add more olive oil and/or lemon juice. It's up to you what consistency works best for your dish.



Note: Because the flavors are enhanced the longer it sits, the Salsa Verde can be made up to 8 hours in advance and keeps in the fridge for 2 days. However, bring to room temperature before using.



The first in the Dinner Club Mysteries is available at your favorite bookstore and on-line, as a paperback and as an e-book.  
Recipes included!





Book #2, ROUX THE DAY, is coming March 7th!




Writing as Erika Chase -- the Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery series are available on-line or at your favorite bookstore.

             
Visit Linda at www.lindakwiken.com
Love to hear from you at my Facebook author page and
on Twitter  @LWiken  
Also appearing at www.killercharacters.com
                                                                               


Visit Erika at www.erikachase.com 
 at my Facebook author page
and on Twitter  @erika_chase. 


2 comments:

  1. I eat a lot of salmon. At least a couple of times a week. Sometimes I get in a rut and fix it the same old way. I'm looking forward to trying this.

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  2. I love the idea of finding a recipe rather like you want and then re-creating it with what you have at hand.

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