I love a green sauce. They seem to have magical properties; they go with everything (Meat! Fish! Vegetables! Just dip some bread in it! Eat some right off a spoon!) and they make the sometimes dreary business of eating a ton of vegetables a total delight. They impart this lovely, summery freshness, even if the summer is a long way off. It’s never a bad idea to double the recipe because leftover green sauce can find it’s way smeared onto sandwiches, thinned out into a salad dressing, or pepping up any droopy leftovers that need pepping.

I have a loose formula for a green sauce is endlessly variable, but broadly as follows: a load of herbs (more than you think), something bright and acidy (lemon, vinegar), something pungent (garlic, shallot) and some salt. They might have something spicy (they probably should I think), creamy yogurt or any number of other variations. But every tweak just seems to result in another great green sauce.

This one was an attempt to loosely reproduce a really tasty mint sauce I had served on fish and chips recently. It was such a good and unexpected move to swap for standard tartar sauce with a bright-tart mint sauce. I suspected it would be equally good on some healthier vegetables, and it was. Don’t feel limited to cauliflower, put this on whatever you fancy.

Some more green sauces I love: chimichurri & spicy cilantro green sauce.

mint lime sauce

2 cups fresh mint leaves
½ cup cilantro
1/4 cup sliced green onions
2 tbs pickled jalapeno slices
1 or 2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp each salt and pepper

Blitz all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth.

roasted cauliflower

2 heads cauliflower, chopped into roughly evenly sized florets
3 tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp each cumin and garlic powder
1 tsp salt

Heat oven to 450°. Toss cauliflower in oil, salt and spices. Roast on a sheet pan for 15-20 minutes, turning the florets every 5 minutes to cook evenly, until it’s golden brown all over.

Serve drizzled with mint lime sauce.