The Rootcellar is a local grocery store here in Victoria with a focus on organic and locally sourced foods. They make a sauce that they call their Green Sauce and it has become well known here over the last few years.
Google tells us that the sauce has been around for a lot longer and is known as Aji Verde; many food blogs call it Peruvian Green Sauce. Anyways, it’s good and you should eat it.
Play around with the ingredients to get the sauce to your liking. It’s probably kinda fine here to use vinegar if you don’t have lime. I’ve seen some recipes add mustard and a small amount of onion for this sauce. We also will often use yogurt instead of mayo; or a blend of yogurt and mayo.
Ingredients:
½ cup mayonnaise (we like vegan mayo)*
1 cup packed cilantro leaves with tender stems
1-2 medium jalapeños seeds removed, roughly chopped
1-2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
*experiment with yogurt or sour cream or combination to suit your diet and tastes
Method: Combine all of the ingredients and purée until the sauce has a vibrant green colour with a smooth consistency.
Taste, and adjust if necessary. Too strong for you?! Blend in a tablespoon of olive oil. Not spicy enough?! Add more jalapeño. Want more zip?! Add a bit more lime juice and/or a pinch of salt. You get it.
Green sauce keeps well in the fridge for about a week.
