Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Spanish Salsa Verde...or the dip that goes with anything

We love dips. All I need to do to get my kids to eat kore desi chutneys is to rebrand them dips and I think we'll be going through a few bowls of them a week. Thus I'm always on the lookout for new recipes for dips. Last year while we were visiting my friend Suniti on holiday, she served us this amazing green dip that went well with everything on the table - roasted baby potatoes, grilled broccoli, toasties and grilled shrimp. She has had it when she travelled to Spain on her first solo holiday and loved it so much she got the recipe and reproduced it back home.

With my forgetfulness, I'm sure I don't have the original recipe anymore. But what I do make is delicious, fresh and goes well with anything. The other night, when we had friends over for dinner, we served this with assorted grilled veggies - baby carrots, broccoli, mushroom and zucchini, and pita chips and it went down a treat! I bet it'd work great as a salad dressing too. I have no photos because it gets inhaled as soon as it is served...but just imagine a bowl of green, aromatic deliciousness...

Ingredients:
1 bunch parsley
3-4 pods garlic, finely chopped - last week I had freshly grown garlic bulbs and leaves from the mandi so I used that instead
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Heat the olive oil but not to smoking point. As soon as it gets hot, switch off the stove and toss in the garlic and salt. Stir gently and ensure the garlic gets cooked till translucent and soft but not browned ( which will turn it bitter). Toss in the parsley and leave aside to cool. I also added chilli flakes and sometimes I toss in a spritz of lime...