A thing you can do when you have too many fresh, leafy herbs

a.k.a. a really nice problem to have! also a bonus for paid subscribers: how I clean + store fresh herbs!

Can you tell I love this stuff?

Have you ever bought a bunch of fresh, leafy herbs to use for a recipe, used a bit of that bunch, and then thought…now what??

I’ll tell you what! Make an herby sauce. What’s an herby sauce? So glad you asked.

It’s a simple sauce I make all the time that’s just finely chopped fresh, leafy herbs*, plus garlic, olive oil, and salt. Four ingredients, endless applications.

*I’m talking about the soft stuff like parsley, cilantro, dill, basil, and chives…

Simple herby sauce (SHS? I might be trying too hard to make this a ‘thing’) is a lot like Italian pesto, but there’s no nuts or cheese. It’s also a lot like Argentinean chimichurri, but there’s no vinegar or spice. It’s also a lot like Yemenite zhug, but no hot peppers. What I am trying to say is that so many cultures have amazing ways of turning herbs into sauce and the one I make the most often is the simplest version.

I stick to simple for a few reasons.

1. There’s room for variation when something is simple. I can jazz up a little of the sauce each time I use it. Simple herby sauce can become pesto with cheese and ground nuts, or it can become chimichurri with some vinegar and a little ground cumin and some hot pepper flakes. Just like a pot of cooked beans can be turned into so many things (soup one day, tacos the next, etc.), simple herby sauce has lots of possibilities.

2. It keeps really well in a container in the fridge (I usually have mine around for a week) since there’s no acidic ingredients breaking down the herbs. Just fyi, it also freezes really well (more on that below!)

3. I love having something ready-to-go in the refrigerator. It makes me feel like so much is already done and so much is possible. This may have come through last week when I told you all about how much I love leafy greens and how I prepare them so that they (a) take up less space in my refrigerator and (b) make it so much easier for me to actually cook + eat them.

4. I tend to like simple stuff because I am, to be honest, pretty basic.

HOW TO MAKE IT

• Turn your food processor on with nothing it it (except the blade!) and drop garlic clove(s) through the opening on top so they mince well and don’t get stuck in the blade of the machine

• Add your cleaned herbs (any single type or a mix of fresh, leafy herbs works) to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped (you can scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula if needed depending on how much you’re doing)

• Add enough olive oil to make a sauce (the amount is up to you! the more oil, the creamier the sauce…the less, the more of a chopped herb salad, which is also great! whatever you want!)

• Season to taste with salt

  

I HAVE AN EASIER TIME WATCHING SOMETHING GET MADE RATHER THAN READING ABOUT IT…

You’re in luck! I made an IG reel all about this today!

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A FOOD PROCESSOR?

No problem! Just finely chop the herbs, put them in a bowl, add minced garlic, olive oil, and salt. Stir together and adjust the oil and salt as needed.

BUT THIS ISN’T A RECIPE! HOW MUCH DO I ADD OF EVERYTHING?

You’re absolutely right. There are no measurements here. It’s a method, not a prescription. Every time I make this, it’s always a little bit different and I actually love that. But to give you a better sense of things, I would say roughly 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil for every bunch of herbs. Love garlic? Add more! Hate it? Leave it out! The oil range is approximate— just start with a little and stop when you're sauce is the texture you’d like.

This batch was extra saucy because I was generous with olive oil!

HOW DO I STORE THIS?

Store this in a container or jar in your fridge for up to a week or freeze for however long you like to freeze things. If you freeze it, you can also use an ice cube tray to make small cubes and store those in a freezer bag or container. That makes it really easy to defrost/use just a little bit.

OKAY, I MADE IT. NOW WHAT?

• It’s great with eggs! Spoon on top of scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs…however you like your eggs! You can also use it to fill an omelet along with some cheese (YUM).

• Spoon on top of baked potatoes or crispy roasted potatoes. It’s also so good spooned on top of any roasted vegetable (sweet potatoes, fennel, carrots, winter squash!!)

• Spoon on top of grilled vegetables (zucchini, asparagus, etc.)

• Spread on hot boiled, steamed, or grilled corn and then sprinkle with grated cheese. Or just heat up frozen corn kernels in a skillet and then stir in some of the herby sauce. Corn + herbs are good friends! Stir into polenta!

• In the summer when you have great tomatoes, slice them thick, season with salt, and spoon this sauce on top. You could alternate also put some sliced or torn mozzarella in this situation.

• Spread on toast for instant garlic-herb bread.

• Use it to season cooked beans or lentils.

• Stir into hot pasta, rice, any grain!

• Stir into chicken or vegetable soup right before serving.

• Whisk it together with mayonnaise, sour cream, or Greek yogurt and you’ll have yourself a dip!

• Mix into ground meat (turkey, beef, whatever) and make delicious burgers or meatballs.

• Serve on plain roasted/broiled/grilled fish or seafood.

• Stir into a pot of steamed clams or mussels.

IN CONCLUSION

I hope this method for making Simple Herby Sauce helps you feel as calm + prepared in the kitchen as it makes me feel!

If you like this post/method, you might also enjoy: my Sunday afternoon classes (I teach live cooking classes every Sunday afternoon and they are so much fun) / my podcast / my cookbooks.

If you enjoyed this and think someone you know might also like it, please help me spread the word about this new newsletter. It means a lot!

Take care everyone, xoxoox, Julia

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