Author Notes
At virtually all times, Cal Peternell’s 4-ingredient marvel sauce can be within reach—a smart way to dispense with herbs in the crisper, and a last-minute dinner savior in one. Adapted slightly from A Recipe for Cooking (Harper Collins, October 2016). —Genius Recipes
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Ingredients
- Fried Herb Salsa
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1
garlic clove, pounded to a paste with a pinch of salt
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1/3 cup
finely chopped parsley
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1/3 cup
good olive oil
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1/3 cup
crumbled fried herbs (recipe follows)
- Fried Herbs
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Cooking oil, vegetable or olive
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Leaves from 1 bunch rosemary, sage, or savory (or a mixture), patted dry if necessary to avoid spits and splatters
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Salt
Directions
- Fried Herb Salsa
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Mix everything together, stir, taste, adjust, and spoon all over, especially on roasted, grilled, and braised meats, grilled vegetables, beans, toast even.
- Fried Herbs
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in a small saucepan or skillet, pour enough oil for the herbs, fried in a few batches, to swim around in, at least 3/4 inch. The oil won’t really be reusable for anything else, unfortunately, since frying herbs makes it bitter, so I try not to use too much. Heat the oil to 325° F or until it is shimmery, not smoking, and a leaf dropped in sizzles enthusiastically, but does not scare you out of the kitchen.
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Fry a batch of herb leaves, and when the sizzling has nearly stopped, dip them out and onto paper to drain while you fry the next batch. Sprinkle them with salt and use them right away or refrigerate them, covered tightly; they’ll last at least a week.
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* Extra fried herbs can be sprinkled over roasted, grilled, or braised meats; crumbled and tossed with boiled or roasted vegetables, or sprinkled over fried ones; floated on bowls of soup; mixed with fresh garlic and parsley for more salsa! (Fill in the blank with your variation.)
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