Whenever I want to cook something special, my first thought is always salsa verde, and Christmas is no exception. This vibrant sauce is so forgiving and endlessly versatile – a last-minute showstopper that can be whipped up with a few store-cupboard ingredients and some herbs. It’s normally made with parsley, garlic, capers, anchovy fillets, olive oil and vinegar, but as long as the end result is green and saucy, I’m generally more than happy. Finely chop whatever herbs you have to hand – I used rosemary, sage, lemon verbena and nasturtiumsfrom the garden.

Anything goes salsa verde

Green sauce is a forgiving, adaptable recipe, and a great way to use an excess of herbs or leafy greens and their stalks. It’s delicious with almost any simple roast, grilled or fried fish, vegetable or meat, and elevates any meal almost effortlessly. I find that chopping the herbs by hand creates a much nicer texture than using a blender. If you do use a blender, simply pulse all the ingredients at once, but make sure you’ve chopped the herbs 10mm or smaller first.

I like salsa verde better once it’s had time to sit and rest, because that gives the acid time to break down the herbs and for the flavours to amalgamate, so ideally make this sauce the day before, or first thing in the morning.

100g mixed seasonal fresh herbs, leaves and soft stalks; discard any very woody stalks 1 small garlic clove, peeled, or 1 tbsp finely chopped onion 1 pinch coarse sea salt 1 tbsp capers, finely chopped (optional) 2 anchovy fillets (optional) 3 tbsp stale bread (optional) 1½ tbsp vinegar (white- or red-wine or cider vinegar) 1 tsp mustard (optional) 50-100ml extra-virgin olive oil

Gather all the herbs into a bunch and finely chop all the way up from stalk to leaf. Cross chop finely until everything is evenly chopped.

If you’d like a thicker sauce, chop the stale bread into small cubes, toss with the vinegar or lemon juice, and leave to soak.

In a mortar, pound the garlic and sea salt with the capers and anchovy fillets, if using. Once that’s all broken down into a puree, add all the chopped herbs and pound again for 30 seconds, to break them down. Pound in the stale bread, if using; if not, just add the tablespoon and a half of vinegar or lemon juice now. Stir in the mustard, if using, then finish with enough extra-virgin olive oil to give the salsa a consistency that’s to your liking.

Season to taste, adjust the acidity, so, if need be, then store in a clean jar and use within a day or two.