The wide world of herby green sauces includes Italian pesto, Argentinian chimichurri, Moroccan chermoula, chile verde from Mexico, and the chile-herb sauces of Thailand. They all share a base of the locally grown fresh herb, a hit of something acidic to brighten the flavor, usually some oil, and most include the spicy bite of chile. If you’ve got herbs in your garden, what our friend Katherine Deumling of Cook With What You Have calls her green pantry, you can make your own, mixing whatever looks good at the moment.
But the one green sauce we usually have on hand only needs a few fresh items and a couple of things from the pantry. Originally from Yemen but found across the Levant, zhug combines cilantro (and sometimes a little parsley) with jalapeño, garlic, and spices. The most traditional version, called sahawiq in Yemeni Arabic, leaves out the acidic element. But we’re following the lead of our friends at NY Shuk and adding a little of their preserved lemon paste.
A food processor makes short work of the ingredients, but you could chop everything by hand. Cut the cilantro bunch, stems and all, into roughly 3 inch lengths to make processing faster. Then combine everything together and blitz to a smooth, pesto-like consistency. While zhug is especially good with hummus, falafel, and other foods from the Levant, we spoon it over grilled vegetables, roast chicken, and eggs on the regular.
REMINDER: The shop will be closed this Sunday, July 4th, so remember to load up on everything you need for the holiday weekend before then. Stay safe and have fun!
We still have a few shares left of our Olive Oil CSA! Grab one now before our container arrives sometime (we hope!) in late July.
Our Olive Oil CSA help support our small farm partners. It works like this: Early in the year you buy a CSA share for $100. We use the cash to pay the farmers, and when the season’s olive oil arrives here, that share is worth $120. It’s good for anything we sell at Wellspent Market, not just olive oil. Shares are usually only available for a few months, but everything is different these days, so you can still sign up.
