Top 3 ways to use up left over herbs

By Tom Mitchell-Dawson

These three herby dips and sauces are a fantastic way to elevate many of your weeknight meals. They come together in minutes and often use ingredients you already have in your cupboard. Simply place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until your desired texture is reached. If you like a more rustic sauce, you can use one of the Cole and Mason pestle and mortars or the hachoir and wooden chopping board, just simply chop or smash all the ingredients together then finish with olive oil.

The herbs in the sauces are balanced with salt, fat and acid. Saltiness can come from salt itself but also can be achieved with things like capers or anchovies. Acid is important to add freshness and helps balance any bitter notes you may find in the herbs or olive oil. Acids can include vinegar or citrus fruits, mustard can also lend some acid to sauces like these. The fat that is mainly used is extra virgin olive oil, but cheese is also a good way to add some creaminess to your sauces. Try to use the best olive oil you can afford here. Aromatics are what will make your sauces stand out, garlic, chillies, spices and the herbs themselves are what makes these sauces so moreish so feel free to experiment with these and create your own recipes.

Zoug

  • 1 big bunch of coriander 
  • 1 cloves of garlic 
  • 1-2 green chilli
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 50ml olive oil
  •  

Serving suggestions

  • grilled meats
  • Flat breads
  • Mixed through yoghurt

 

Fish Sage and Walnut Pesto

  •  1 bunch of sage
  •  1 bunch of either parsley or basil
  • 1 cloves of garlic 
  • 15g parmesan 
  • Small handful of walnuts
  • The juice of half a lemon
  • 50 ml olive oil

 

Serving suggestions

  • Roast pork
  • Sausages
  • Pasta
  • Roasted pumpkins

 

Salsa Verde

  • 1 bunch of parsley 
  • Handful of mint leaves
  • Handful of basil leaves
  • 4 anchovy fillets
  • 1 cloves garlic 
  • 2 tsp capers
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 100ml olive oil
  •  

Serving suggestions

  • Soup topping
  • Tossed with Potatoes
  • Burrata
  • Steak

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