Magic green sauces

Josephine Cabrall at Fertile Ground Health Group

We all know veggies are good for our health but who really feels like eating salads in the middle of Winter? The solution? Delicious baked Winter veg made interesting with magic green sauces! Green sauces are herbaceous, full of flavour and packed with immune boosting antioxidants and vitamin C. A little garlic adds a bang to the flavours whilst keeping those winter bugs away. Green sauces are a tasty way to sneak in some extra greens and jazz up roast veggies to make sure you are meeting your vegetable quota.

The best thing about green sauces is that you be sure to use up all of those half bunches of herbs that would otherwise sit and wilt in the fridge. They never have to go to waste again because there is no wrong or right way to make a green sauce – just throw in whatever you have and blend! Some guidelines are good to get you started though, and after some practice you can just use your instinct. Here are our favourites:

Rocket pesto

This twist on regular basil pesto is great for getting the digestion going as rocket has that gentle bitter quality to it. The bitterness is balanced out by the other ingredients though, making it a flavour party for your palate. Top any roast veg with it, such as sweet potato, cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini, pumpkin, beetroot, carrot, parsnip, fennel or red capsicum. If you chop the veg into bite sized pieces you can easily toss them into a salad with some green leaves and add the pesto on top as a wonderful dressing. A dollop of rocket pesto on top of your scrambled eggs is also wonderful.

  • 1 small garlic clove
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 25g pine nuts, walnuts or cashews very lightly toasted in a dry frypan or in the oven
  • 50g rocket
  • 1 bunch of basil
  • 25g Parmesan, finely grated (optional)
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 125ml cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
Salsa verde

This classic Italian green sauce goes wonderfully with any roast veg but also on fish, chicken, poached eggs or steak. You can swap the mint out for fresh coriander or rosemary as you please.

  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2-1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 bunch of fresh basil
  • 1 handful of fresh mint
  • 1 small handful of capers
  • 6 anchovy fillets
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 8 tablespoons cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
Zhoug

This Middle-Eastern version of pesto is traditionally made with green chilli and is quite hot. Its a wonderful winter warmer but feel free to modify the heat level or omit the chilli. You can also add lemon zest if you like a more punchy flavour. Zhoug is magical with roast pumpkin and labne, over roast eggplant and cauliflower, or on meatballs, felafels or boiled eggs.

  • 4 jalapeño chillis
  • 4 cloves garlic (peeled)
  • 1/2 cup parsley
  • 1/2 cup fresh coriander (leaves and stalks but be sure to wash the sand out thoroughly)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
  • salt to taste

Green Tahini

This sauce is addictive so consider making a double batch to keep in your fridge and spread over everything. Goes well drizzled on roast veg, roast chicken, felafel or on toast.

  • 150ml tahini
  • 70ml lemon juice
  • 150ml water
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 30g (or one handful) flat-leaf parsley leaves (you could also use coriander or a combination of both)
  • salt to taste

Chimichurri

This Argentinian green sauce with its dominant parsley and garlic flavour is an excellent sauce or marinade for meat and vegetables, or can be used as a condiment to spice up just about anything you can imagine.

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, or more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
  • 1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
  • 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems removed
  • salt to taste

Written by Josephine Cabrall, Naturopath and Natural Fertility Educator at Fertile Ground Health Group. Josephine is a respected fertility practitioner with a special interest in PCOS treatment.

Find out more about Josephine and how she can help you.

Delicous and nutritious seed crackers

Seed Crackers with Rhiannon Hardingham at Fertile Ground

One of the best things about working at Fertile Ground is all of the fabulous and inspiring people I get to meet. A recent example of this was the fabulous Julia Lette – naturopath, personal trainer and (importantly for us) raw food chef extraordinaire! She has just completed our naturopathic mentor program, and spoiled us rotten during this time! Julia introduced us to some very impressive healthy desserts, but most exciting to me was her simple but amazing seed crackers. Total GAME CHANGER for low carb eating! Not only does it allow you to quickly and easily make your own crackers, but they are packed with great nutrients- good fats, minerals, b vitamins and fibre. And they’re easy and delicious…. I promise. Give them a go and find out for yourself!

Ingredients

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup pumpkin seeds

¼ cup sesame seeds

½ cup Stoney Creek Flaxseed Meal (from your local health food shop, or pick some up next time you’re in at Fertile Ground).

¼ cup chia seeds

½ tsp salt

1 cup water

Method

  1. Heat oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Place all the seeds and the salt in a bowl, pour in water and mix to combine. Leave for 15 minutes for the chia and flax seeds to soften and bind everything together.
  2. Tip out on to a baking paper-lined oven tray and spread out as thin as possible (around 4mm thick) and sprinkle with some flaky sea salt (if desired). Bake for 30 minutes.
  3. Remove from the oven and slice into crackers, then return to the oven to cook for another 20-30 minutes until crisp and golden. Remove to a rack to cool then store in an airtight container.

written by Rhiannon Hardingham, recipe created by Julia Lette