Gremolata doubles as a condiment and garnish. It's easy to make, bright and flavorful, and can complement a range of dishes from smoked brisket to braised veal shank to roasted asparagus. Traditionally it's made with parsley but substituting arugula gives it a peppery kick.
Photo: Mathew Green
Ingredients
serves 6-8
1 cup loosely packed arugula leaves
4 cloves garlic
all of the zest from one lemon
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
Wash and dry the arugula.
Peel the garlic.
Wash the lemon. Use a vegetable peeler to peel off strips of skin from the lemon. Don't go so deep as to cut off the white pith, you don't want that.
Chop everything separately, then combine it and chop some more. You may be tempted to just throw it all in a food processor but I urge you not to. It's not going to save you time because you'll have to clean it and that's a pain. And the texture of the finished product won't be the same. Take a minute to do it by hand.
Toss with the fish sauce and lemon juice and serve as soon as possible.
I put it on some smoked brisket because I happened to have some smoked brisket, but you can really use this on just about anything. Grilled steak, pork chops, roast chicken, steamed fish, grilled or roasted vegetables, and so on.
Recipe by Chef Mathew Green
