What is it about sauce? There is something to it right? Think about your favorite pasta, coated to perfection in marinara or your favorite pizza swirled in concentric circles of tangy crimson heaven. What about those chicken wings you like? Tossed in chili lime or traditional bbq so every crispy nook and cranny is covered for optimum, finger licking, flavor. Not to mention the world of traditional barbecue (not like your dad grilling in the back yard, but traditional-whole hog/smoked meat, Southern barbecue). Sauce is practically a religion in the South; if you use it or don't use it, if it is vinegar, tomato, or mustard based all varies, county by county, state by state ( i.e. Texan barbecue is NOT the same as South Carolina whole hog barbecue).
Now, to be honest, we often think of sauce as an Italian thing... this is not the case. As I mentioned above there is bbq sauce, cheese sauce, steak sauce, bearnaise and cream sauce. There are sauces that are called other names- gravy, dressing, dip etc. I am sure there is someone in the Bon Appetite test kitchen that could explain the difference to me and I am sure that Anthony Bourdain would have my head for not having technical knowledge of such things, but you know what... for the sake of this post I'm going to stick to my guns and say sauce (while not all created equal or of the same things) is still sauce (I will learn the proper differences later).
Continuing on... A while back I was roasting a chicken and some veggies for dinner and I thought to myself... I want to make a sauce. Something fresh, something flavorful... something green?
I had purchased loads of herbs at the farmers market in hopes of making a rather lofty recipe I had seen on Pinterest or ,perhaps, Bon Apps twitter and realizing that they were going bad waiting for me to rise to the occasion. So, I got craftyand decided to re-appropriate them by blending them into some semblance of a sauce (see, I have a point for my sauce rant). At first I wasn't fussed about it. Sure it was ok, but it lacked... FAT... so as with everything in my life, I added avocado. Lo and behold magic was made that day.
-BANGIN GREENS-
aka green sauce
aka I don't have a cleaver name for this one...
What you will need-
*1 cup parsley (I like flat leaf, but I am sure curly would work)
1/2-3/4 cup cilantro
1/4-1/2 cup mint
1/2 avocado
juice from 1 small lemon or 1/2 large lemon
1/2-1 tsp good sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2-4 cloves garlic (I like it really garlicky!)
1/4-1/2 cup water- add as needed
*KEY to this is that all the herbs are fresh!
Place all of your ingredients and blend on high until a smooth, green, Nickelodeon slime looking texture is achieved, give it a taste and alter as needed to your preference (more mint, more garlic etc). The flavor of the herbs, the acid from the lemon and spice of the garlic should all feel balanced by the fat of the avocado and olive oil. The texture should be smooth and creamy, slightly runny but not watery. Once you have the flavor you are looking for enjoy!
I have replicated this sauce many times since my first experiment with it. Depending on the strength of the herbs it always turns out a little bit different which is kind of pleasant- you taste the season in this sauce. Use it as salad dressing, over cauliflower steaks (SO GOOD), on roasted veggies or as a fresh alternative to pan gravy on your roasted chicken dishes.
Sauce makes everything better in my opinion... though I am a fan of condiments in general so perhaps I am a little bit bias. Give this sauce a go and let me know how it turns out! I would love to hear what you use it on or how you give it a little personal flare.
xx
p.s. I am currently obsessed with all things Bon App... check out there podcast aka foodcast for inspiration (word to the wise, don't listen when you are hungry!).
