Home » Vegetables » The Only Green (Herby, Avocado) Sauce You Need
4.9 from 10 reviews
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Sarah Copeland, author of The Newly Wed Cookbook and Feast, has a new book out: Every Day is Saturday. It’s filled with recipes and strategies for cooking every day of the week, the goal being to keep that weekend-cook mentality going strong all week long.
I have made one and only one recipe, but it’s a good one: The Only Green Sauce You Need.
It’s a mix of herbs, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and something with body: avocado, miso, nuts or tahini. I went the avocado route and took Sarah’s suggestion to smear if over toast, which I then topped with a 7-minute egg and sea salt. No regrets.
I’ve since used it another toast with sliced, mashed avocado — avocado on avocado is never a bad thing, right? I’ve also smeared it over — wait for it — more toast, which I then topped with salted cucumber ribbons and dukkah (see below).
But the uses for this sauce extend far beyond toast ..
How To Use This All-Purpose Green Sauce
Use this green sauce as…
- … a dip for veggies.
- … a spread in sandwiches.
- … a sauce for grilled fish or shrimp.
- … a condiment for fried eggs.
- … a flavor swirl (that’s a thing, right?) in savory yogurt bowls.
- … a dressing for roasted vegetables or chicken.
- … and, of course, a smear for toast.
There is nothing you won’t want to slather this sauce on all summer long.
Here’s the three-step play-by-play: 1. Gather your ingredients. Roughly chop the herbs, juice the lemon, peel the garlic, scoop out some avocado flesh.
2. Throw the ingredients in a food processor or blender.
3. Pulse till blended but with a bit of texture. Adjust flavor as needed.
How to use it? The possibilities are endless, but I highly recommend you start here: olive oil toast + jammy eggs.
Then here: Olive oil toast + salted cucumber ribbons + dukkah.
Sarah Copeland’s Every Day is Saturday:
The Only Green Sauce You Need
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star
4.9 from 10 reviews
- Author: Alexandra Stafford
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 3/4 cup sauce
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Description
From Sarah Copeland’s: Every Day is Saturday.
I love the versatility of this sauce — I find myself dipping carrots into it when I need a snack to slathering it over toast for lunch to tossing it with grilled shrimp for dinner.
Avocado: I love the creaminess the avocado lends here, but in place of it you could use something, as Sarah says, “with body.” She offers miso, nuts, and tahini as alternatives to the avocado. I’ve been cutting 1 avocado in half and using the smaller half for this recipe.
Ingredients
For the green sauce:
- 1 bunch (about 3 cups, 3 ounces) fresh parsley, cilantro, arugula, mustard greens or a mix, roughly chopped
- 1 small bunch chives (about 1 ounce), roughly chopped
- Juice of 1 lemon or lime (about 2 tablespoons), plus more to taste
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more to taste
- 1/4 cup avocado (see notes above)
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
For the eggs + toast:
- eggs, however many you need
- extra-virgin olive oil
- good bread, sliced thickly
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- To make the sauce: Add the greens (stems and all), chives, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, avocado, salt, and pepper to a blender or food processor. Pulse until broken down — add water by the tablespoon as needed to thin and get the blade whirring. Scrape down and pulse again until the sauce is broken down and easy to dollop with a spoon. Taste. Adjust taste as needed with more lemon, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Adjust consistency with more water or olive oil by the tablespoon.
- To make the toast: bring a small (or large depending on how many eggs you are cooking) pot of water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath. Carefully lower the eggs into the pot of boiling water. Adjust heat so water is gently simmering. Cook 7 minutes. Transfer eggs to ice bath.
- Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon (or more depending on how many slices of bread you are toasting) of olive oil. Toast bread on each side for 1-2 minutes, checking often to ensure the slices are browning evenly. Remove toast when the slices are golden and crisped to your liking.
- Smear green sauce over a slice of toast. Peel an egg. Cut it directly over the slice of toast into quarters. Sprinkle with sea salt. Repeat with any remaining slices of toast and eggs.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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Mia —Reply
How long will the sauce last in the refrigerator?
alexandra —Reply
About a week! I’ll add a note.
Lisa See —Reply
Ha! This is so funny, Ali. You were in my head yesterday.
I had some left over mint sauce from my favorite lamb recipe of yours. For lunch I drizzeled the sauce on some boiled eggs I had in the fridge along with some leftover Asparagus with Prosciutto and Boursin cheese. YUM!
I look forward to trying this as well.
PS I’d still like to see some fabulous creation of yours for rabbit and other game. =}
alexandra —Reply
Lisa all of that sounds amazing!! I think you will approve of this sauce 🙂 And I know … I really need to post some more game recipes. We have a freezer full of duck, and it’s so, so tasty.
Lisa See —Reply
Good to hear! I’ve been hesitant to even attempt cooking duck.
I’ve done rabbit and had pretty good success….just wish it wasn’t so dry.
Any tips would be most welcome. =}
Sunie Worrells —Reply
Ali, I can’t tell you how good this is, but of course you already know! We grilled veggies (eggplant, zucchini, onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms), then stuffed them in a roll slathered with this sauce and ate until we were stuffed! I made it with avocado and parsley, but I’ll try it with other herbs another time, but I think the avocado may be essential for the wonderful texture.
alexandra —Reply
Sunie, yay!! So happy to hear this!! That sandwich sounds unbelievably delicious. Can’t wait to try this!
Jerome —Reply
Looks great- is it all the greens combined or just use one of them? Your picture looks like parsley?
alexandra —Reply
I used a combination of parsley and cilantro, but you could use only one herb or a combination of herbs or a combination of the greens mentioned — I haven’t tried arugula or mustard greens, but I’m curious.
Joanne —Reply
Thank you for including weights of the herbs! That’s a big help rather than a ‘small’ bunch…
alexandra —Reply
You are so welcome, Joanne!
Sunie —Reply
And tonight we had some leftover grilled veggies, so I made some couscous and put them over the coucous. Added your beautiful green sauce dolloped over and some Valentina hot sauce to taste. Yummy!
We are finding that we are trending toward vegetarian and feel better for it. I hope you’ll add more recipes in that direction. Well, really I guess we’re more pescaterians as fish is a part of our diet weekly.
Keep it up, Ali! We love your cooking! BTW, I’m still making our bread every week by the recipes in your book. Store bought bread is just so inferior!alexandra —Reply
Yay! Sunie, so great to hear all of this. That sounds delicious. We eat mostly vegetarian these days as well, and I will definitely add more recipes in that direction … I have a black lentil with spinach recipe I’ve been making and loving. More soon. And yay re bread! Makes me soooo happy 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hina —Reply
Ok this is so good. I could eat this by the spoonful, let alone on 100 things! I made it with parsley, cilantro and 1/2 avocado, as described. My goodness- just perfection! The texture is creamy with the avocado but am curious about tahini. I don’t know what I’d do without your blog, Alexandra – truly! More than any cookbook or blog, I’m always eager to see what you post and make the most from your suggestions! thank you, thank you 🙂
alexandra —Reply
Hina you are too sweet, thank you for all of this! I am so happy you like this one. I’m finding it to be such a nice thing to have on hand… such an easy way to spruce up a meal. Thanks for writing!
Amanda —Reply
I love this sauce! I kept it really simple and did arugula, parsley and chives with the avocado and other ingredients. Just had it for a quick dinner smeared on some toasted sourdough with a scramble egg on top. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! 10/10!
alexandra —Reply
Yay! So happy to hear this, Amanda! We have been loving having this sauce on hand.
peggy —Reply
Thank you for the recipe for green sauce. Haven’t made it yet. Could I use other herbs?
alexandra —Reply
Yes, absolutely! Whatever you like: chives, parsley, cilantro, basil, tarragon … a mix is nice. A little thyme would be nice, too, but not a ton. Rosemary and sage are not advisable.
Danielle —Reply
This is so good! I didn’t have an avocado, so I used 2T miso and 2T tahini
alexandra —Reply
YUM!! Sounds amazing. So happy to hear this.
Amanda —Reply
How do you suppose this would freeze?
alexandra —Reply
Hmmmmm …. I think it might be fine, but I worry about its color turning an unappetizing hue.
Danielle —Reply
This is the best!
alexandra —Reply
🙂 🙂 🙂
susanna moraldi —Reply
I finally got around making this, added some arugula and ramps because I had some! OMG, so so good! Just had it on toast with cukes and mozzarella! Less acidic and more creamy than salsa verde, love it!
alexandra —Reply
Oh yum! So great to hear all of this. I have a bag of ramps in the fridge. Love the idea of using them here!
Maria —Reply
Amazing!… I roasted the garlics and it was perfect…
alexandra —Reply
Yum!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Victoria Smith —Reply
Approximately how long does this sauce keep in the fridge for? Thanks!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Hi! First: I adore your site! At some point last year I bought two rattan chairs and a coffee table, and they have transformed my living room. Thank you! I would say 3 to 5 days re sauce … it doesn’t spoil after that point, but it loses its vibrancy.
Victoria Smith —Reply
Thank you so much, Ali!! That’s so sweet to hear and I appreciate your support of the shop!
Cheers and happy new year,
Victoria
Kelli808 —Reply
This was delicious and so timely, as I was fretting over extra arugula and avocados that I hadn’t yet eaten. This prevented overripe food going into the compost/worm bin and came together so easily in the food processor!
I spread it on homemade focaccia bread (LOVE your recipe for that too, it is amazing!) topped with sliced steak and more arugula for an amazing sandwich.
Thank you for these great recipes, inspiration and guidance!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
That all sounds amazing!! Thanks for writing and sharing. And yay for not wasting those precious avocados and arugula!!
Hartleigh Buwick —Reply
Can you freeze this? obsessed with it- i use basil instead of cilantro and its SO GOOD!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
I wish I knew! I worry slightly about the hue/texture channging only because avocados don’t generally do great with time. Let me know if you make any discoveries!
