Alison and Jay Carroll, co-founders of wildly popular olive oil and skincare brand, Wonder Valley, split their time between the high desert of Joshua Tree and a small island in Maine. Their deep connection with nature inspires them to cook with an intuitive approach, guided by the abundance of the seasons.
Recently, we joined the couple and their baby Bo for dinner at their Joshua Tree home. Alison prepared this delicious Summer Salsa Verde to serve with roasted chicken, made with fruity olives, liberal handfuls of herbs, chopped garlic, and of course, lots of olive oil.
Read on for Alison's recipe—we've been making it all summer.
From Alison:
My salsa verde always has a variety of fresh herbs, always something salty, and always Wonder Valley olive oil. One of my secrets to this recipe is breaking up the olives with my fingers. It looks nicer when they are torn rather than chopped (in my opinion)...the irregularly of size is nice.
I used at least a cup of olive oil—it should be a really loose sauce and easy to spoon. I love to serve this with roasted vegetables and grilled chicken.
Scroll on for the recipe, and shop our collection of serving bowls here:
Sharing Bowl - This medium-size stoneware serving bowl is perfectly sized for sharing any side dish—or if you’re really hungry, it makes a perfectly big salad for one.
Handmade Wood Salad Bowl - The 12" is sized for 2 - 4 people, while the 17" is made for larger groups.
Summer Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
- ½ cup coarsely chopped parsley
- ½ cup coarsely chopped mint
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped dill
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp cut up lemon preserve (optional)
- 1 cup pitted green olives, the best you can find
- Wonder Valley Olive Oil
- Kosher Salt
Instructions
-
Cut all your herbs up, as fine or rough as you want.
-
In a shallow bowl, pile the herbs to one side and put the garlic and lemon juice on the other side to macerate for a bit.
-
Cut up a bit of lemon preserve if using. Add to the bowl.
-
Break up the olives with your fingers. Stir it all together and drizzle with olive oil (I did at least a cup but it should be a really loose sauce and easy to spoon.)
-
Adjust with salt if needed. Serve with roasted vegetables, grilled chicken, or fish.
