Seeing Green: Verdant Sauces across the Globe

By Katie Barreira

Last week, our tongues took a virtual field trip to Frankfurt for a taste of the country’s customary green sauce. But German cuisine isn’t alone in the notion.

In Italy, salsa verde is a mash of parsley, capers, garlic and anchovies, thinned with oil and vinegar. Order haricots verts with sauce verte at a Parisian café and your delicate green beans will come dressed in a green mayonnaise, colored with a purée of watercress, tarragon or other spring herb.

Argentineans love their steak smothered in chimichurri, a thick blend of parsley and oregano seasoned with cayenne or other hot pepper. And in Mexico, enchiladas aren’t complete without green salsa.

Mexican green sauce (salsa verde) is the black sheep of the family. While it follows the rules in color and practice (the emulsion of raw ingredients, served chilled) salsa verde deviates from the grassy path of its herbaceous relations, owing its vibrant color and fresh taste to tomatillos rather than herbs.

Tomatillos, also known as Mexican green tomatoes, are similar in size and shape to unripe tomatoes, except for their thin, paper-like husk, which should be removed before eating. It should come as no surprise that the tomatillo’s dominant flavor notes are lemon and herb.

Tomatillo Salsa Cruda

Many recipes for green salsa call for roasting tomatillos to bring out their sweetness. In the grand tradition of green sauce, I’ve chosen to keep this salsa raw (crudo) in order to preserve the tomatillo’s fresh, green-apple flavor. A pinch of sugar does the trick in balancing the fruit’s bright acidity.

Serves 6 to 8

12 ounces tomatillos, husked, rinsed to remove sticky film, cored and quartered
2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped (for a spicy version, leave in the ribs and seeds of 1 or 2 jalapenos)
3/4 cup cilantro leaves
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
5 ounces sweet onion, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Pulse ingredients in a food processor until finely chopped and a bit soupy.

Serve with tortilla chips, drizzled over sliced skirt steak, baked into enchiladas or stirred into pozole.

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