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Epicurious

Sauce Vierge

We’ve revived this simple, classic French sauce with a combination of extra-virgin olive oil, tomatoes, fresh herbs, and some toasted pine nuts. It’s a summertime sauce that’s typically served with fish, but we like it with many of the meatballs, including Duck Balls (page 31) and Veal Meatballs (page 48). On a hot summer day meatballs can be dauntingly heavy, and a bright, fresh sauce can turn them into a suprisingly light lunch. Since chervil can be tricky to find, feel free to skip it if you can’t find it.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 4 cups

Ingredients

4 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, finely diced
1 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice from 2 lemons
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh chervil (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon salt or to taste

Preparation

  1. Place the tomatoes, onions, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, cilantro, chives, parsley, chervil (if using), basil, and salt in a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if desired.

Reprinted with permission from The Meatball Shop Cookbook by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow with Lauren Deen. Copyright © 2011 by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Daniel Holzman is executive chef at The Meatball Shop. He is an alum of Le Bernadin, San Francisco's Fifth Floor, and Aqua, among other highly acclaimed restaurants. He attended the Culinary Institute of America, where he received a full scholarship from the James Beard Foundation. Michael Chernow runs the front-of-house operations and the beverage program at The Meatball Shop. He has worked extensively in restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. He is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, where he earned degrees in culinary arts and restaurant management. He and Holzman met as teenagers when they worked together as delivery boys at the New York vegan restaurant Candle Café. Needless to say, the vegan thing didn't really stick. Lauren Deen is the author of the New York Times bestselling Cook Yourself Thin series and Kitchen Playdates. She is an Emmy award—and James Beard award— winning television producer and director. She is currently executive producer of food(ography) on the Cooking Channel.
TagsSauceFrenchEuropeanTomatoVegetableDairy FreeGluten FreeVegetarianVeganEasyQuick30 Minutes or LessNo-CookCookbooks
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