Herb & Chlorophyll

EMERALD GREEN · GRASSY, BRIGHT, UNNATURALLY GREEN

Herb & Chlorophyll

20 min · ≈150 ml servings

Ingredients

  • 60 g flat parsley leaves, no stems
  • 20 g basil leaves
  • 80 ml neutral oil
  • 1 tbsp water
  • Pinch of fine salt
  • Ice water, for shocking

Method

  1. Blanch the herbs in boiling salted water for exactly fifteen seconds. Any longer and the colour dulls.
  2. Lift them straight into ice water. This is the step that keeps the green. Skip it and you get army khaki.
  3. Squeeze the herbs completely dry between paper towel. Water left in them will split the sauce.
  4. Blend the herbs with the oil at full speed for two minutes, until the oil is vivid green and warm to the touch.
  5. Strain through a fine sieve lined with muslin. Let it drip; do not press, or you push through fibre and lose the clarity.
  6. Season with salt and thin with water only if it needs it.

Chef's tip: Chlorophyll degrades in light. Store in a sealed container in the dark and use within two days.

From The Edible Codex · 261 recipes