Green sauce is the name of several different sauces containing mainly herbs, namely the Italian salsa verde, the French sauce verte, and the German Grüne Soße or Frankfurter Grie Soß (Frankfurt dialect).
History
The basic recipe is probably from the Near East and, as such, is probably at least 2,000 years old. Roman legionaries brought it to Italy, from where it was exported to France and Germany. Evidence suggests that it was introduced in Frankfurt am Main by the Italian trading families Bolongaro and Crevenna around 1700. A possible origin of the German variant are French Protestant immigrants emigrating to Kurhessen in the 18th century. The German variant uses a different mix of herbs, since Mediterranean herbs were not available in Germany at the time.
Italian salsa verde
The Italian
salsa verde is a cold rustic sauce, and includes
parsley,
vinegar,
capers,
garlic,
onion,
anchovies,
olive oil, and possibly
mustard. Traditionally, ingredients were coarsely chopped by hand but now it is frequently blended into a coarse sauce using a
food processor. In some regions, cubed bread is soaked in vinegar and blended with the other ingredients, which creates an emulsion somewhat similar to a
vinaigrette. In other regions, there is no bread. Salsa verde is used as a condiment or dipping sauce for meats, fish, poultry, or vegetables.
One well-known salsa verde is gremolata, the usual accompaniment to ossobuco alla milanese.
Argentinian Chimichurri
Argentinian Chimichurri is a green sauce used in
Argentina for roast meat and sausages. This recipe for Chimichurri has been widely used and adapted in certain parts of
Latin America. The recipe can be found as far north as
Nicaragua in
Central America.
French sauce verte
The French
sauce verte au pain was already known in the
Renaissance, and was originally a bread sauce very similar to the Italian. Today, however, the term frequently refers to a kind of
mayonnaise flavoured with
tarragon, and sometimes
parsley and
sage. Lemon juice is often used instead of vinegar.
German Grüne Soße
There are two traditional types of
Hessian Green Sauce which are popular in the
Frankfurt am Main and
Kassel area. The Frankfurt-style is made from hard-boiled eggs, oil, vinegar, salt, and generous amount of seven fresh herbs, namely
borage,
sorrel,
cress,
chervil,
chives,
parsley, and
salad burnet. Variants, often due to seasonal availability include
dill,
lovage,
lemon balm and even
spinach . In more frugal times,
daisy leaves, broad
plantain leaves, and
dandelion leaves were also used. Different from the way
mayonnaise is prepared, in Grüne Soße, cooked complete eggs are used together with
sour cream as creamy base of the sauce. Some variations use
buttermilk or
quark, or
yogurt. The green sauce of the city of Kassel is based on a combination of sour cream and
Schmand.
The sauce is served with peeled boiled potatoes, accompanying either hard-boiled eggs or roasted beef brisket. Even cooked fish or roast beef are served together with the cold and refreshing sauce as main courses. Green sauce is as well served as a side dish to barbecue. A local schnitzel specialty, called Frankfurter Schnitzel, is served with green sauce, along with apple cider (Apfelwein) as a possible accompanying drink. Green sauce was supposedly Goethe's favourite meal; a legend that his mother invented it is likely apocryphal.
The local importance of the famous dish is shown by the abundance of green sauce on local markets and by the monument for green sauce installed in Frankfurt-Oberrad in 2007. The latter consists of seven small greenhouses with the main herbal ingredients and was part of the Luminale, a local art and light event.
In many Hessian families, Green Sauce is the traditional meal eaten on Maundy Thursday, relating to its German name Gründonnerstag (literally Green Thursday).
Mexican and Mexican-American salsa verde
Green sauces are common in
Mexican and Mexican-American cuisines. The basis of the green sauce (known as salsa verde) is typically
pureed cooked or raw
tomatillos, with
jalapenos or other
chiles,
white onion,
cilantro, and sometimes
lime added to taste. Salsa verde can range in spiciness from mild to mouth-searing. It may be warm, as in a
chile verde, or cold, as a condiment. In Mexican-American cuisine, a green sauce is frequently used as a dip for
tortilla chips and served with
tacos, grilled pork, grilled meats and even fish.
Notes and references
Footnotes
Category:French cuisine
Category:German cuisine
Category:Italian cuisine
Category:Sauces
Category:Frankfurt
Category:Mexican cuisine
