Green Sauce like Tina’s
Last month, Sam and I had lunch at his favorite Cuban restaurant, Tina’s, in Midtown. Sam advised me to get “extra green sauce” with whatever I ordered. I’m glad I took his advice. The creamy, just slightly spicy cilantro-y sauce is delicious on plantains, potatoes, fries, or sandwiches.This week we made fish with potatoes, and I decided to try my hand at making my own version of “Tina’s green sauce.”
I did some research, and found out that Tina’s sauce is their version of a Peruvian aji, which is made from chiles, iceberg lettuce, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder and mayo. In my version, I omitted the iceberg lettuce, and used extra cilantro. Fresh garlic replaced the garlic powder, which gave the sauce more bite, and chives were substituted for scallions, because that’s what I had on hand. I also added extra virgin olive oil in addition to mayo, and the juice of 1/2 of a lime. Using the food processor, the entire thing took less than 5 minutes to make. Enjoy it on fish, potatoes, vegetables, eggs, and sandwiches.
Green Sauce like Tina’s
INGREDIENTS
- 1 large bunch of cilantro, rinsed
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
- 3-4 jalapeños
- 1/3 cup of fresh chives
- 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- Sea salt to taste
Place all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender, and blend until it has the consistency of a creamy sauce. Salt to taste.
Have you had the green sauce at pio pio rico? Is that the same or similar to this green sauce?
Yes– definitely similar. These mysterious green sauces are so good!
This recipe sounds fabulous!!
I love cilantro, when the leaves a small and sweet, but when they get old and large they taste like soap!
So, I keep trying to grow my own, but it only grew strong one year, os it seems to be picky weather-wise.
If anyone reading this has any special instructions for growing cilantro let me know. I am in California. In the house it won’t grow, outside, sometimes…..
Thanks!