Sabzi’s Green Goddess Dressing

When thinking about what recipe to share this month, and sitting in my kitchen in the rather extraordinary warmth that June has brought us all, I thought that perhaps keeping it simple was a good idea.

Sabzi’s Green Goddess dressing is a twist on a salsa verde, designed to incorporate the masses of aromatic, verdant green herbs that become more available at this time of year. I’d recommend making a decent amount and then keeping it in the fridge to use in a number of different ways through the week. There are lots of uses for something as punchy and delicious as this dressing:

Mix it in equal parts with chilled Greek yoghurt and dress a cucumber and red onion salad generously in this mixture. Put back in the fridge for a couple of hours before eating and enjoy on a hot afternoon as a refreshing side dish to accompany a bbq, or even a simple omelettte or jacket spud! In Iran cold salads and soups are used to bring our body temperature down in hot weather, so this is a really refreshing way to eat a simple salad on a hot day.

Use the dressing to top a big bowl of hummus – dipping bread or crisps into the creamy dip through the tangy dressing makes for very tasty (and quite ‘fancy’ if you have friends coming round!) pre-dinner snacking.

Stir the Green Goddess through a tablespoon of mayo and dress steamed baby potatoes for a gorgeously fragrant potato salad.

Add some chilli and spoon over your favourite bbqed meat as soon as it comes off the grill – the heat from the cooking will elevate the flavour of the citrus and the herbs in the sauce and create a real ‘wow’ moment when you bring it to the table.

Roast your favourite seasonal veg with lots of garlic and citrus, a couple of generous pinches of sumac and a scattering of cumin seeds; open a jar of delicious chickpeas or butterbeans and stir through with plenty of the Green Goddess dressing, a big handful of parmesam or a crumbling of feta. This would be a really delicious lunch in its own right, or a really special side dish alongside some lamb chops.

Take the above mentioned roasted veg, steam some bulgur wheat and add a glug of the Green Goddess to the wheat with your boiling water; mix well, cover and leave to cook. Add more dressing, roasted veg, plus feta if you like it and mix well. This keeps beautifully in the fridge for a couple of days but is also wonderful eaten immediately, slightly warm.

Ingredients

Makes approx. a litre of dressing. Will keep comfortably in the fridge through the week.

•1 large bunch parsley

• 1 bunch tarragon

• 1 large bunch basil

• 1 bunch dill

• 1 tbsp capers

• 4-6 cloves gently roasted garlic depending on your preference

• 1.5tbsp Dijon mustard

• 75ml oil of your choice

• 75ml lemon juice (bottled is fine here)

• 50ml garlic oil (that you’ve kept your confit garlic in)

• 1 jar dill pickles

• Plenty of seasoning

Method

Blitz your herbs, mustard, lemon, garlic and oil together in a food processor until well chopped but still retaining some texture. You can of course take it smoother if you prefer.

Finely chop the dill pickles by hand and stir into the herb dressing; taste and alter the seasoning to your preference.

Maple or honey can be added if you feel you need some sweetness, fresh chilli is also lovely if you like heat.

Sumac will bring an added fruity layer to the dressing.

Add yoghurt after blitzing if you’d prefer a creamy dressing.