Green Sauce

I had always considered parsley to be simply the decorative bit of green found on the meat-heavy plates of American cuisine. I did not think of it as a herb, at least not in the way I thought of sage in roast chicken, or cilantro in a Chinese stir-fry. And in any case, I found its taste soap-like.

But tastes change and mature. Otherwise, I would still think ketchup the ultimate condiment, and a great accompaniment to a bowl of white rice. M.'s mother uses parsley occasionally in her cooking, and the taste has grown on me. I found I rather liked the taste of parsley in an omlette, for example.

I do believe, however, that I am about to embark upon a love affair with parsley. Recently, I ate at the restaurant La Paillote du Pecheur, where I had an incredibly tasty parsley and green onion sauce. It was set on the table in a small bowl. I assumed it was for the salad and spooned some onto my tomatoes and lettuce. It seemed like it might have also been placed there for our fish, and so spooned some onto my grilled mahi-mahi steak. It worked equally well for both. Indeed, I liked it so much that I decided to try and make it at home. It seemed easy enough. La Paillote is a typical fisherman's restaurant in Guadeloupe where the food is simple but fresh and carefully prepared. There couldn't have possibly been any surprise ingredients.

I made a small bowl and kept it in the fridge. I used it first as a salad dressing. Over the coarse of the week, I found other opportunities: as a dressing for some boiled pasta, then topped with Romano cheese; a spoonful in a creamy baked pasta for some extra flavor; the remainder used to sauté green beans. I was really pleased by its versatility, and its ability to add some extra flavor. Instead of adding a tablespoon of olive oil, I would add two tablespoons of the sauce.

There is nothing particularly Caribbean about the sauce, but since I had it first at a local restaurant, I thought it could still make the recipe list.

Ingredients:
onion
green onion
parsley (flat or curly leaf)
olive oil
salt

1. Finely mince onion, green onion, and parsley.

2. In a small bowl, combine onion, green onion and parsley.

3. Add enough olive oil to submerge mixture.

4. Add salt.

I'm fairly certain you could keep the sauce in the fridge for at least two weeks, but we've always finished each batch within the week, so I cannot say. There aren't any quantities, because its really a matter of taste. I make it with about equal parts onion, green onion, and parsley. M. likes onions a bit less than I do, otherwise I might increase the quantity of onions. I've been using regular yellow onions because that is what is available here, but I think red onions would work really well.

*ADDENDUM* (April 7, 2009) Works really well in chicken salad too. One part green sauce to one part mustard to two parts mayonnaise.