Salsa Verde alla Toscana, Tuscan Green Sauce

Fresh and tangy Tuscan Salsa Verde made with stale bread, fresh parsley, anchovies and garlic. This sauce is so versatile and good served with meats, fish, veg or on sandwiches.

There are many variations of Italian Salsa Verde but this version is how it's traditionally made in Tuscany and in Florence in particular.

It's often served with Lampredotto (a traditional Florentine tripe roll) or with Bollito Misto (mixed boiled meats).

We love to serve it with almost anything from crispy roast or boiled potatoes, to salads, steak, on sandwiches, and so much more (more ideas below).

The unique part of this recipe is that it uses vinegar-soaked bread and a hard-boiled egg yolk to thicken it and give it richness. It's good and easy to make.

See the full recipe below, plus all our tips and serving suggestions. Enjoy!

Ingredient notes

• Parsley – use flat-leaf parsley and not curly parsley, which has a different texture and flavour. We also use the stalks to avoid waste, and it works great, but you can also choose to use the leaves only.
• Capers – We use capers jarred in brine.
• Stale bread – ideally, you want to use bread that's at least 1 day old, so it soaks up the vinegar without turning to mush.
• Egg – we need one hard-boiled egg, but we're only using the yolk for richness and creaminess. You can refrigerate the boiled egg white and use it in sandwiches mixed with mayo, or add it to toast.

Note on the consistency

You can use a small food processor or immersion blender to blitz the sauce to a smooth consistency (this is what we usually do), or you can use a sharp knife or mezzaluna to chop it as finely as you can. This will have a chunkier consistency, but it's still good!

Recipe tips

Using a food processor – We like to use a mini food processor that attaches to our immersion blender. It's great for blitzing small batches of pesto or sauces like this that would normally get lost in a regular-sized food processor.

Prep ahead – you can serve the salsa verde straight away or prep it up to 1-2 days in advance.

Serving suggestions

• Potatoes – you can use the salsa verde to dress boiled potatoes for a good potato salad or side dish (green beans are also good mixed through) or use it as a condiment to crispy roast potatoes.
• Meat – this is good served with roast chicken, char-grilled steak or pork chops, on rolls with pork shoulder or with mixed boiled meats.
• Fish – serve it with baked salmon or white fish.
• Other veg – it's good with roasted carrots or tossed through broccolini or green beans.
• On Sandwiches – use it as a condiment to almost any sandwich; the variations are endless!

More Italian sauces and pestos to try

Sauces & Dressings

Salmoriglio (Southern Italian Herb Sauce)

Dips & Pestos

Arugula Pesto

Dips & Pestos

Pistachio Pesto (Pesto di Pistacchi)

Sauces & Dressings

Walnut Sauce – Salsa di Noci

Ingredients

Makes 6 servings (makes about 1 cup)

• 35 g (1 packed cup) fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 medium slice of stale bread (crusts removed (about 40g))
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 2 anchovies
• 1 clove garlic
• White wine vinegar
• 40-60 ml (1/4 cup) Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Cut the crusts from the slice of stale bread and cut the bread into small pieces. Add to a small bowl and cover with white wine vinegar, set aside.

2. Put the egg in a small saucepan and fill it with cold water. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. As soon as the water is boiling, remove the lid and put a timer on for 7 minutes.

3. After 7 minutes, drain the egg into a sieve and run it under cold running water for about 30 seconds. Set aside to cool, then peel the egg from its shell.

4. Put the parsley (with stalks) in a food processor with the anchovies, capers and garlic. Remove the yolk from the hard-boiled egg and add it to the food processor.

5. Squeeze the bread to remove the excess vinegar and add it to the food processor, followed by the olive oil. Blend to a smooth sauce, adding more olive oil if needed.

6. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

Kitchen notes

• Storage will keep well for up to 2 days in the fridge.
• Serving see the post above for lots of good serving ideas.