Italian salsa verde — flat-leaf parsley, capers, anchovies, garlic, mustard, and olive oil — is a cold sauce of concentrated savoury depth that serves as both a condiment and a marinade. Unlike French salsa verte, the Italian version uses capers and anchovy as a foundational ingredient rather than an accent, producing a sauce that is intensely savoury without any single component dominating. It is the umami-dense sauce that requires no cooking.
- **Anchovy:** The invisible structural flavouring — adds glutamates and inosinates without tasting of anchovy when properly incorporated. [VERIFY] Hazan's anchovy quantity. - **Capers:** Salt-packed capers (rinsed and dried), not brine-packed — their flavour is more complex and less vinegar-sharp. - **The mortar method:** Hazan's preference — pounding the ingredients together produces a more unified, deeper-flavoured sauce than blending. The bladed processor heats the herbs; the mortar does not. - **Oil emulsification:** The olive oil is added gradually while pounding, creating a loose emulsion that coats the surface of any meat it accompanies.
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