Chef Johns Green Sauce Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S GREEN HUMMUS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add the basil and cook uncovered until bright green, about 20 seconds. Immediately plunge basil in ice water until cold. Squeeze basil to remove excess moisture and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Put basil, garlic, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, garbanzo beans, and white beans, salt, and black pepper, respectively, in a blender. Cover and blend until almost smooth; add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and puree until smooth.

CHEF JOHN'S TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Place olive oil, onion, celery, and a pinch of salt into a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Cook until onions are very soft, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix garlic into onion mixture and cook just until fragrant, about 1 more minute.
• Pour tomatoes and their juice into a large mixing bowl and use your hands to crush the tomatoes until they look pureed.
• Mix sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, anchovy paste, white wine vinegar, Italian herbs, and red pepper flakes into vegetable mixture. Raise heat to medium and cook just until liquid has evaporated. Stir in tomato paste and bring to a simmer. Pour in San Marzano tomatoes and parsley. Bring sauce to a simmer, turn heat to low, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, adding a little water as the sauce cooks down. Stir occasionally.

CHEF JOHN'S CHIMICHURRI SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine oil, garlic, vinegar, salt, cumin, red pepper flakes, black pepper, cilantro, oregano, and parsley in a blender.
• Pulse blender 2 to 3 times; scrape down the sides using a rubber spatula. Repeat pulsing and scraping process until a thick sauce forms, about 12 times.

MR. JOHN'S MEAT-STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large pot of boiling water, parboil the peppers until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and dry on paper towels.
• In a large saute pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and chopped bell peppers and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the beef, pork, garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper, and pepper flakes. Cook until the meat is browned, stirring with a heavy wooden spoon to break up the lumps, about 6 minutes. Add the rice and tomato sauce and stir well. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, to taste.
• Pour enough water into a baking dish to just cover the bottom, about 1/8-inch deep. Stuff the bell peppers with the rice mixture and place in the baking dish. Bake until the peppers are very tender and the filling is heated through, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

CHEF JOHN'S GREEN SAUCE

Steps:

• Crush garlic and salt in a molcajete or with a mortar and pestle until garlic has a paste-like texture. Add parsley, capers, and anchovy paste; grind into garlic until mixture is coarsely ground.n
• Stir oil and vinegar into parsley mixture.n

CHEF JOHN'S GREEN GODDESS DRESSING

Steps:

• Blend mayonnaise, sour cream, parsley, tarragon, chives, lemon juice, rice vinegar, anchovy fillet, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper in a blender until smooth.

THE BEST GREEN BEANS EVER

Steps:

• Snap the stem ends of the green beans, or cut them off in a big bunch with a knife if you'd prefer.
• Melt the bacon grease in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook for a minute. Then add the green beans and cook until the beans turn bright green, about a minute. Add the chicken broth, chopped red pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat to low and cover the skillet with a lid, leaving the lid cracked to allow steam to escape. Cook until the liquid evaporates and the beans are fairly soft, yet still a bit crisp, 20 to 30 minutes. You can add more chicken broth during the cooking process, but don't be afraid to let it all cook away so the onions and peppers can start to caramelize.

PEPPERCORN SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook steaks and keep them in one layer in skillet. Remove steaks from skillet and skim all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan juices in the skillet. To skillet add, shallots and minced garlic and cook them for 1 to 2 minutes until softened. Deglaze with Cognac, scraping up bits which cling to skillet. Add stock or canned beef broth and peppercorns. In a small bowl combine cup heavy cream and cornstarch. Whisk cornstarch mixture into sauce and simmer until lightly thickened. Whisk in mustard and pour juices from plate into pan.

JOHN SPENCER'S BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large cast iron skillet, place the olive oil and cloves of garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat until garlic gets light tan but not brown. Add the tomatoes into the oil and garlic and scald tomatoes for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, and breaking up with wooden spoon. Transfer tomato mixture to a large saucepan and keep on low heat. Clean out cast iron skillet for upcoming use.
• Mix chopped vegetables and herbs together in a big bowl. Take 1/3 of mixture and set aside. Put the remaining 2/3 into saucepan with tomato mixture. Add 1 cup of good Italian red wine, such as Chianti (do not use cooking wine) to tomato mixture. Add 2 (16-ounce) cans of tomato sauce to tomato mixture. Add 1 teaspoon salt to taste, and freshly ground pepper (as such as you like). Let the tomato sauce cook uncovered simmering for 1hour.
• Put about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in bottom of cast iron skillet. Add ground beef, ground pork, and remaining 1/3 vegetable mixture. Cook until meat is medium well and then add mixture to tomato sauce. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar to pot. Simmer tomato sauce partially covered for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• When tomato sauce is about 15 minutes away from being done, take the 2 sausage links, make a slit down the middle, but do not cut in half. Put the water on to a boil for pasta. Cook Pasta. Place the sausage links in the cast-iron skillet and cook until browned all the way through. Slice sausage into chunks. Either add sausage to tomato sauce or use as suggested below.
• Place pasta in large serving bowl, add butter, mix, add enough sauce to coat, and as much fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese as you like. Serve pasta from the big bowl into individual servings with a few sausage chunks and more if desired. Bon Appetit!

STEAK AU POIVRE (FILET IN GREEN PEPPERCORN SAUCE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the filets generously with salt.
• Heat a medium cast-iron skillet over high heat until it starts to smoke slightly. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan. Sear the filets on both sides until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Cook in the oven until desired doneness, about 7 minutes for medium rare.
• Meanwhile, return the skillet to medium heat. Add the heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce, green peppercorns and bouillon cube. Bring to a simmer and let reduce by about half, about 2 minutes. Add the cognac and porcini powder and let reduce again for 1 minute.
• Remove the beef from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut the filets across the grain into 2-inch pieces and top with the au poivre sauce, thyme sprigs and a pinch of coarse salt.