New potatoes and yellow beans with Spanish green sauce – Mojo Verde

I was looking back at our two months stay in Spain a couple of years ago and remembered the roasted vegetables I used to order at various restaurants. It was not easy to find vegetarian options on the jamon Iberico and seafood focused menus and I often had to create my own lunch or dinner from side dishes they offered. There is an art to travelling vegetarian and I think I have mastered it. This is not to say that I won’t try other foods but on an extended stay I prefer to eat mostly vegetarian.

One of my go to dishes at restaurants in Spain was a platter of beautifully grilled vegetables. Often they were serve plain with a drizzle of olive oil and a generous sprinkling of local salt but on a few occasions they offered a green sauce alongside the vegetables. There was also a red sauce, more spicy than this one. The green sauce originates from the Spanish Canary islands where it is served with bread or vegetables. Another sauce or dip was their famous Romesco that made its way into my cooking repertoire when we returned from our Spanish adventure.

Green sauce is not unique top Spain. The Mexican have their salsa verde, the Italian their pesto, the French their sauce verte and in the middle east they have the schug.

Here is a version of the Spanish style green sauce that goes wonderfully with summer green and yellow bean, steamed new potatoes and roasted summer vegetables. I make this with cilantro, as opposed to my usual green parsley pesto for which I use flat leaf Italian parsley.

Why don’t you steam a bunch of yellow beans and small new potatoes, drizzle them with the sauce and let me know what you think. We loved it.

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Other than that, we are getting ready to go on Isa Lei (the sailboat) for four days, sailing it south on the Okanagan lake. We have booked another dinner with the fabulous Joy Road Catering at God’s Mountain and plan to take our time sailing to Penticton. We plan to pull in to beach town along the way, but still, there will be breakfast-lunch-and-dinner on the boat a couple of time. And sleeping on the boat. If you know me, you know that I need to be comfortable. We’ll see how it goes, but I am up for the adventure. Stay tuned. I won’t lie. Promise to tell the truth.

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Ingredients:

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Mojo verde

 

1 bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems included

2 large garlic cloves, fresh garlic if you have it

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or almonds, preferably toasted

Juice of 1 fresh lime or 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

A pinch hot pepper flakes, optional

1 cup olive oil

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Directions:

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Place the cilantro and garlic in a food processor and process until the cilantro is chopped.

Add the cumin, salt, pumpkin seeds and lime juice and mix until blended.

Add the olive oil in a small and steady stream, processing to a saucy consistency.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Keep refrigerated.

Serve as suggested above.

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Vegetables:

 

New potatoes

Yellow beans

Steam the potatoes and the beans until tender.

Drizzle with the green sauce and stir gently.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

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