Italian Salsa Verde Is The Mouthwatering Sauce Your Steak Deserves

From a basic steak sauce to a classic red wine bordelaise, steak is a wonderful canvas for a wide variety of flavors, and one of its best companions may be salsa verde. Italian salsa verde is just one of the many condiments that use that name worldwide, but unlike an herbal chimichurri or spicy Mexican tomatillo salsa, the Italian version incorporates strongly briny and savory elements like capers and anchovies for a truly unique green sauce. It's just as easy to make as its international cousins and its taste profile makes it a perfect pairing for a delicious steak.

The best steaks are tender and full of meaty taste, with plenty of fat and marbling that contributes to their moistness and flavor. That savory and rich profile is pretty great on its own with just a little salt and pepper but still leaves a lot on the table when it comes to taste, and that is where salsa verde can help it shine. Italian salsa verde's mix of herbal, acidic, and salty flavors is excellently balanced and brings a lot of brightness and pop that steak can be missing. It transforms a hearty one-note dinner into something lively and complex, complementing the fat and mild umami of your steak, and bringing out more of its inherent flavor. It's light enough to let the steak be the star, but flavorful enough to take it to the next level.

Salsa verde isn't just tasty with steak, it's versatile and can be used in a number of ways. The classic use is to simply spoon it over some cooked and sliced steak as a condiment, and that probably is the best way to give it a try. It also makes a great upgrade to a steak sandwich in place of heavier, thicker condiments that can overwhelm other toppings. The acidic citrus juice or vinegar and the salty anchovies also mean salsa verde can work as an effective marinade, both flavoring and tenderizing your steak. Just rub it on the outside of your meat, seal it in a plastic bag or other container, and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours for a juicy and satisfying result.

Italian salsa verde can be made a few different ways, but it only takes a few pantry staples along with some parsley. You should start with good olive oil because that provides a lot of the flavor, and then it combines parsley, fresh garlic, salt, and an acidic element, usually lemon juice. The briny flavor that makes it unique comes from the previously mentioned anchovies and capers, so those are essential. It's best made in a food processor or with an immersion blender to achieve a more uniform and thick consistency. Once it's all blended together it's all ready to transform your steak into something special.