Ravigote Sauce, or shamelessly cribbing from my prep list

I’m told that this weekend is kind of a big deal for not one, but two groups of the believers among us. Here in Atlanta, it also happens to be the kind of perfect, exemplary Spring weather that finds me typing under a bright blue sky in a jacket and scarf. This time of year demands bold, fresh and bracing food. Stuff like a heavily browned, medium-rare lamb roast (or shanks if you’d rather remove any anxiety) and a bright, green, highly herbal sauce. Enter ravigote.

I made this recipe to accompany a boned, rolled, tied, smoked and slow-cooked pig head at work. It’s a rich, meaty, fatty, cartilaginous thing, the opposite of shy, and it demands an equally assertive sauce.

Ravigote is essentially an herb vinaigrette, traditionally enriched with reduced stock and eggs. The eggs are hard-boiled, so the texture is lighter than a mayonnaise--though you certainly could use the herbs in the making of an acidic mayonnaise, if you wanted something for a leftover roast lamb sandwich.

I encourage using this recipe as a guideline: start with the vinegar, oil, herbs and parsley. Everything else is negotiable based on your ingredients, preferences and time. My recipe eliminates the stock and capers, and switches out the herbs. You should give yourself similar license with your ingredients and desire.

We originally planned to use sorrel for an extra hit of acid--which definitely would have required reduced stock--but were long on tarragon when I made it. I’d love to try it with mint and dandelion, things I can forage with lemon balm from the garden. If you can’t get green garlic, sub in 1-2 cloves regular garlic and 1-2 diced shallots. If you like capers, add them, and be mindful of your salt.

You can play with texture too: whisk instead of blending and finely chop your herbs, skipping the blanch on the parsley if you do. Keep your egg chopped instead of pureed.  If you follow the instructions you’ll get a bright spring-green puree. The coarser you make it, the darker it will be.

Enjoy the recipe below. The basis for it is here.