Let this recipe from Grandma teach you how to make a classic green sauce.
A front-runner of traditional Basque sauces to compliment your fish dishes this summer.
INGREDIENTS:
- 150 grams of clams
- 75ml of Txakoli (or a dry white wine)
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 dried red chilli
- 5 grams of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 20 grams of plain flour (can be adapted to suit thickness of sauce)
- 300ml of fish stock
- Pinch of salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
The green sauce is ideal to accompany white fish dishes, such as hake, shellfish and molluscs.
It is a primitive sauce, very authentic with a long history in Basque culinary tradition dating all the way back to 1723.
Therefore, it is recognised as a notable sauce of the gastronomy and still the tradition in many household kitchens since our ancient ancestors cooked it over hot coals and a slow fire.
Although there is no exact science on how it should be made and cooked (it can be adapted to each person’s liking), it is important to achieve a well-blended sauce.
METHOD:
- Layer a large, deep, frying pan with extra virgin olive oil and sauté the finely chopped garlic and chilli (optional but adds a touch of spice)
- Lightly fry until the garlic is cooked but with no colour (this is important – if the onion and garlic are brown; the green sauce will be brown)
- Add the flour closely followed by the Txakoli (or dry white wine), stirring occasionally and well so that the alcohol evaporates, leaving the flavour behind
- Add the 300ml fish stock and let it boil well, enabling the mixture of flour and Txakoli to dissolve (eliminating the taste of raw flour) and to thicken the sauce
- Add the clams and simmer until they are delved deeply into the sauce, once they have started opening, sprinkle the chopped parsley into the sauce to achieve a nice green colour
- Season with a pinch of salt, let it rest for a few minutes then “on egin” (enjoy)!
*we buy our fresh clams in the Galician Rias Baixas*
