Green Sauce

My mother found this recipe in the newspaper (I think) and made it for me as the dressing for a cous cous salad and I was completely obsessed. When I was pregnant with Jack (and still slightly now... not slightly pregnant) I was obsessed with salsa verde and this is sort of the same thing but with one major difference. It uses preserved lemons. Before I had this sauce nothing on god's earth could get me to have anything with lemons in (I do use lemon juice in cooking but with caution) but now I usually have a jar of them in the pantry or in the fridge.

This sauce is really easy to make - you need a magimix or blender - and makes something unexciting quite special. For example, tonight I cooking supper for a pregnant woman who may just be one of those who is The First Woman Ever to be Pregnant and I'm assuming a lot of foods will not appeal or be allowed. So I'm playing it safe but for those of us who want a bit of a kick there will be a bowl of this green sauce on the table for the orzo pasta which will be served with butter and garlic salt (there are other things too don't worry).


A go to quick lunch or supper for guests in the summer is a bulgar wheat, quinoa and cous cous salad (I use this mix from Waitrose) with cucumber and tomato chopped up really small, chopped herbs and this sauce with some delicious baked chicken that's been seasoned with salt, pepper and ground coriander. Served with dollops of yoghurt this is incredible.

You can of course just use this receipe as a starting point. Sometimes I add anchovies, sometimes I add capers. But this is always the base and frankly, when I'm pushed for time this is great as it is, I know it's going to taste great.

Green Sauce

20g coriander
7g parsley
2 garlic cloves
2tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped preserved lemon, I usually use 1
1 tsp ground cumin
60ml extra-virgin olive oil

1. Combine everything except the olive oil in the food processor and blitz until a paste.

2. With the motor running slowly add the olive oil

3. I usually add a tiny bit of salt but if you are using anchovies or capers you probably won't need too and sometimes the lemons are salty enough