Raw Sauces

As the weather warms, I am looking forward to trading in the gravy boat and sauce separator in favor of the food processor... to concoct raw sauces. I love to experiment with base greens and strong flavor variables to produce interesting and delicious pesto, persillade, pistou, and gremolata. Toying with various meats and pasta will create a new culinary canon for you. You'll find that there's almost no wrong pairing and that you don't need butter and stock to make a piece of chicken sing.

One night last week, I took a large, thin cut of sirloin and pan-seared it simply in olive oil. I topped it with what is technically a gremolata, or raw sauce of parsley, garlic, lemon zest, and olive oil. Here's how it went:

Simple Gremolata
Yield: 1 cup
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: Read the title of the post, silly...

• 1 cup parsley leaves
• 1 large garlic clove, very roughly chopped, more if desired
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/3 cup excellent quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 scallions
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice if 1/2 a lemon

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a sharp steel blade, gently pulse every ingredient except the olive oil together about 10 times for about 2 seconds each. Adding the olive oil gently, pulse about 5-10 more times.

There are hundreds of variations you could try here... but this can get you started. Enjoy.