Lime Balm Salsa Verde
Reasons to love fresh herbs
Hopefully you’ll agree that there are lots of great reasons to include some fresh herbs in your diet. They can support overall health and wellness. Having said that, our favorite reason is probably that they are so darn tasty, and they have a delightful aroma that just cheers us up. Not to mention that they’re so pretty.
We are rather vague with the amounts of herbs here because it really is down to your personal preference, and how much salsa verde you want to make. If you think you’re going to need more, then up the herbs, but leave the garlic and shallots the same.
Ingredients
- The leaves from a couple of sprigs of fresh lime balm
- The leaves from 1-2 sprigs of fresh oregano or marjoram
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1 shallot, peeled
- 1 small handful of fresh chives
- 4 anchovy fillets in olive oil, plus some of the olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- the juice of 1 lime
- enough extra virgin olive oil to make it to your desired consistency
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
This is easiest to make in a wide mouthed jar using a hand-held stick blender. Make sure the stick blender will comfortably fit inside your clean jar before you start adding all the ingredients. Another method is in a small food processor.
You can mince the garlic in a garlic press first, and roughly slice or chop the shallot. Then just throw all the ingredients into your jar and put in the stick blender or processor. Whiz it all up a bit until it’s a green sauce. Taste it and add a bit more salt, pepper and olive oil, if you need to. Then it’s ready to serve, or will keep for up to a week in the fridge. It will taste best about an hour or so after you make it though.
What can you use this versatile green sauce for?
Whatever you like, really. But we love how it goes with things like fish, chicken, pork, lamb or, shellfish. We love it used alongside most things. However, it will overshadow any subtle flavors. So if you particularly enjoy the flavor of pork, lamb, or fish just the way they are, this robust salsa verde recipe might be a little bit overpowering. You can also mix it through mashed potatoes for a slightly more subtle flavor, just like you can with pesto. You could also thin it with a bit more olive oil and use it as a salad dressing. For more information about Lime Balm you can Google “Lime Balm uses and benefits”. Enjoy!