Hey there, I'm Jill, the founder of GrownupDish.com and your go-to gal for everything midlife. As a recovering CEO, food lover, world traveler, and self-proclaimed pop culture aficionado, I've got a wealth of experience and wisdom to share with you.
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Take your meals up a notch with this easy Whole30 Italian Salsa Verde that combines briny capers, fresh parsley, and fragrant garlic paste with lemon juice and a hint of crushed red pepper. It’s so easy to make and it ticks all of the healthy boxes: vegan, vegetarian, keto, paleo sugar-free, grain-free and Whole30 compliant.
What Is Italian Salsa Verde?
Similar to this Paleo Chimichurri Sauce, salsa verde is a fresh, healthy salsa. The Italian version is a cold rustic sauce that usually includes parsley, capers, garlic and olive oil. The ingredients are coarsely chopped. In some regions, cubed bread is soaked in vinegar and blended with the other ingredients, which creates an emulsion somewhat similar to a vinaigrette. In other regions, there is no bread. Salsa verde is used as a condiment or dipping sauce for meats, fish, poultry, or vegetables.
The biggest misconception about salsa verde is that it’s literally salsa—as in, to dip tortilla chips in. But it’s so much more than that. It’s a category of green sauces that are served cold or room temperature and uncooked. Almost every country has its own favorite green sauce, and it can be vinegar-forward, oil-forward, or made of mostly vegetables. Popular salsa verdes include Argentinian chimichurri, Italian pesto, Mexican tomatillo and/or avocado salsa, and French sauce verte.
This Whole30 Salsa Verde is a lemony, briny topping that is an ideal finishing sauce for seafood, vegetables or your protein of choice. It would also make an excellent topping for pasta. This green sauce is as versatile and multi-purpose as mayonnaise: it can be a dip, spread, sauce, or condiment. Try it with anything from grilled chicken to eggs or as a dip for vegetables.
Try this Whole30 Italian Salsa Verde recipe and let me know what you think. Be sure to tag #grownupdish or @grownup_dish on Instagram so I can share your posts.
Take your meals up a notch with this easy Whole30 Italian Salsa Verde that combines briny capers, fresh parsley, and fragrant garlic paste with lemon juice and a hint of crushed red pepper. It’s a lemony, briny topping that tastes great on grilled seafood, vegetables or your protein of choice. It would also make an excellent topping for pasta. It’s so easy to make and it ticks all of the healthy boxes: vegan, vegetarian, keto, paleo sugar-free, grain-free and Whole30 compliant.
Ingredients
Scale
1/2 bunch fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced or grated
1 tablespoon capers
juice of one lemon
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt
Instructions
Chop the capers. Roughly chop the parsley leaves (and stems if you desire.) Quarter and deseed the lemon. Peel 1 clove of garlic and finely chop or use a garlic press.
In a bowl, combine the chopped capers and parsley, the juice of 2 lemon wedges, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and much of the garlic and red pepper flakes as you’d like, depending on how spicy you’d like the dish to be.
Taste, then season with salt and pepper if desired.
Notes
Feel free to double, triple or quadruple the recipe to serve more people.
Store any leftovers in the fridge for a few days. It only gets more flavorful as it sits—though the color will darken slightly as the herbs oxidize.
can I water bath can it, since it has acid in the recipe?