Herbaceous Sauce

Vivian Howard's new book, This Will Make It Taste Good, centers on a few things that you make, and then gives a wide range of recipes that you can use these basic recipes in as a flavor backbone. The annoying part (for me) is that a number of recipes have very cutesy names that sound silly to me. The bottom line is that this is a very flvorful and versatile pesto that is well worth making. 2 heads Garlic (about 20 cloves), peeled 2/3 cup Extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup Packed fresh basil leaves .25 cup Packed fresh parsley leaves .25 cup Tightly packed fresh dill, mint, chervil or cilantro .25 cup Scallions, roughly chopped, green parts only .5 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (use a Microplane) 3 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice Zest of 2 lemons 1.5 tsp Kosher salt DIRECTIONS In a small saucepan, bring the garlic cloves and olive oil up to a simmer over very low heat. If it begins to sizzle and boil, pull it off the heat and allow it to cool slightly before you return it to the hot eye of the stove. The idea is to slowly poach the garlic in the oil rather than fry it. This could take as long as 20 minutes if you keep the heat extremely moderate. When the garlic is done, it will be soft and just slightly browned. This garlic confit plus its oil are kitchen heroes in their own right and can be used anywhere you want mellow garlic notes. You could stop this recipe right here and save those little garlic bombs in the fridge for a month, as long as they are submerged in oil. Pureed, the cloves are especially useful as a means to thicken and add flavor to sauces. But you don’t get to herbdacious by calling it quits early. Once the garlic confit is completely cool, put it and all the remaining ingredients in the most powerful blender you have and let it rip until the mixture is smooth and green. Store herbdacious in a sealed container in your fridge for up to 2 weeks or in your freezer for up to 3 months. Makes 2 cups.