I got the original recipe for this dip/sauce/dressing from a monster cooking blog called Pinch of Yum, where it was called “5-Minute Magic Green Sauce.” It is totally great, but let me say that this isn’t really a 5-minute recipe, with all due respect where respect is due. It takes more time than that just to strip the leaves off enough cilantro/parsley to make a packed cup. (You can pack an almost infinite amount of small leaves into a cup.) However, it is well worth making. People scarfed this down at a reception like you wouldn’t believe, and then stood around the bowl forlornly scraping out the last molecules with pita chips. I should have made at least a double recipe. It’s really a combination of a type of pesto (the herb/oil/nut component) and guacamole (the avocado/jalapeno/lime component). Lindsay Ostrom, the author, says it can be used as a dip, spread or salad dressing depending on how thin you make it. It could work on a very sturdy salad with lots of crunchy ingredients and would be good on any kind of meat or fish as a sauce (my son tasted it and said, “This would be really good with beef”), with any raw vegetable as a dip, or with some type of neutral-flavored chip or cracker.
Debi's Great Green Stuff
I made this a little differently from the original, with more avocado and more jalapeno. I also simplified the cilantro step.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch cilantro, coarse lower stems removed*
- 2 avocados
- ¼ cup lime juice I used the bottled stuff.
- 1-2 jalapenos, ribs and seeds removed You don' want it to be terribly spicy, but there should be a nice burn.
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp . salt
- ¾ cup pistachios Yes, these are expensive. You want the raw, unsalted ones. Best way to buy them is in the bulk foods aisle of a natural grocery store such as Sprouts. Remember, even if you have to get an expensive ingredient in order to make something yourself you're still going to be paying less than you would if you bought the item pre-made--not that you'd be able to find this particular item in any store.
Instructions
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Put all ingredients except for the pistachios in your food processor and blend to a coarse paste, then add the nuts and pulse until they're fairly finely chopped but still have texture. Pour into a bowl, surround with dippers, and let the games begin!
Recipe Notes
*Later note: Pati Jinich of "Pati's Mexican Table" on Create TV says that cilantro stems have a lot of flavor. So when I made this recipe a second time I just cut off and discarded the lower cilantro stems at the point where the leaves started and threw the top part into the food processor. (Give the leaves a good rinse first--they can harbor sand.) Much, much easier! Also, if you don't like cilantro, or would like a slightly different flavor, you can use part parsley. But really, cilantro is the way to go!
