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When I first learned to cook,
using herbs meant garnishing dishes with parsley and using dried
herbs in cooked dishes. Nobody ate the parsley sprigs—except
me. If you wanted fresh herbs, you usually had to grow them and
most of us bought dried dill and chives, not realizing how little
their flavors resembled fresh.
For me, this changed when I
lived in Paris in the early 1980s. At the local street market,
Mme. Epice, as she was known (French for spice), sold every kind
of herb fresh and I quickly learned how much better they taste
compared to dried. When I complained that using fresh thyme was
too much work, Madame explained that you could toss whole sprigs
into the pot for soups and stews rather than laboriously picking
off the leaves from the stem. At the end, you could just pick
out the woody stems, as you would a bay leaf. Later on, traveling
in Italy, I fell in love with two sharp green sauces made with
fresh herbs: Salsa Verde, from northern Italy, includes parsley,
anchovies, capers, garlic and vinegar. Salmoriglio, from Sicily,
uses parsley, oregano, and garlic, plus lemon juice. Both are
great with grilled, roasted or poached fish or chicken.
Recently, I created my own
refreshing herb sauce, perfect for warm days. Simply whirl together
fresh cilantro, basil, parsley and a chopped green chile with
orange juice and a touch of low-fat mayonnaise until puréed.
Serve this bright green sauce
with grilled, broiled or poached fish or chicken. It also makes
a great dipping sauce to accompany boiled shrimp, as a change
from the usual red cocktail sauce. With all we now know about
the benefits of carotenoids and the concentration of other health-protecting
phytonutrients in herbs, this sauce is a great way to use them
generously.
Chilled Shrimp with Green
Sauce - Makes 4 entrées
or main servings, or 8 servings as an appetizer.
4 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp. reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 cup cilantro leaves, packed
1/2 cup basil leaves, loosely packed
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, loosely packed
1 serrano chile pepper, seeded and chopped* Salt and freshly-ground
black pepper
1 lb. medium shrimp, cooked, shelled and deveined
Place the orange juice and the mayonnaise in a blender or food
processor. Add the cilantro, basil, parsley, and chile pepper.
Process until the mixture is a pulpy purée. Season the
sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer it into a small
bowl, cover and refrigerate until it is chilled and thickened,
3 hours to overnight. (Use within 24 hours.)
To serve, bring the sauce and
the shrimp to room temperature. If using for hors d’oeuvres,
transfer the sauce to a serving bowl and place in the center
of a large serving plate.
For individual entrées,
divide the sauce among 4 small bowls to place on 4 dinner plates.
Arrange the shrimp around the bowls. For appetizers, use one
large plate and bowl for a buffet-style meal, or use 8 small
bowls and plates for individual servings.
*For a hotter sauce, do not seed the pepper. |
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