We all have foods that sit in our memory. Foods that are so good / perfect / cool / different, just so memorable, that even years later you may feel a need to recreate it.
That’s where this sauce came from. A friend picked up a chicken and rice dish from his favorite Peruvian restaurant and it was good – but once the two little plastic salad dressing container of “green sauce” was added – it was magic! It was just perfect and indelible to the taste buds. The fried rice with chicken breast, onion, green onion, some egg, and salt was nothing remarkable, until…THE SAUCE.
Once figured out and recreated the green sauce has been slathered onto steak, brushed on grilled shrimp, added to vegetarian fried rice, added to garlic bread and broiled, rubbed over roasted chicken legs, added to pollo arroz, added to tacos, slipped into grilled cheese, stirred into hummus, dripped over grilled peppers, zucchini and eggplant, stirred into polenta, or as a topper to grilled polenta, and as a salad dressing add-in.
It’s sharp and fresh when raw. When heated it’s sultry, sweet, and deep. This is a sauce worthy of experimentation. The next experiment might just be with grilled pineapple. . .
The little history is provided because we’re certain it has another name, and a claim by many other cultures. By all means, please add them to comments and educate us. For now, we call it Verdi, Verdi Sauce because it even tastes green.
Verde, Verde Sauce
5 Cloves garlic
1 bunch tender cilantro, use entire bunch just discarding bottom 3-4 inches of stems
Juice from 2 limes – 1/2 cup
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4 medium jalapeños, seeds, ribs and tops removed
1 medium onion quartered or rough chopped (white or yellow, red is ok but will color the sauce darker)
1-4 tablespoons water – as needed for blending
Throw everything except water into a blender or food processor
Whiz, wiz, or wizzz until all Incorporated.
Add water as needed to get sauce moving.
Tips:
Based on the size, sweetness, and heat of the ingredients as well as their water content, the sauce may need more or less lime juice and salt. It gets milder and a bit sweeter if cooked. If using raw, you may like to leave out the onion. Add extra jalapeños and garlic for extra punch.
Storage:
Keeps in the refrigerator, covered for up to one week.
