Frankfurter Gruen Sosse, or green sauce from Frankfurt, Germany, is a thick, creamy mixture of as many herbs as you can find, bound together with chopped hard-cooked egg, sour cream, yogurt, and seasonings. It’s like the best party dip you could imagine, and it’s eaten on nearly everything: sold in delis, dabbed onto a plate in a traditional restaurant, dolloped onto plates in homes.
My first gruen sosse experience was at the Konstablerwache marketplace where my big fat potato pancake–aka latke– was served with a gigantic blob of this most luscious of substances. It was a cold autumnal day, apples were in season and an apfelwein bar was set up with long tables filled with drinking folks. It looked and felt like a Bruegel painting, and there i was, so looking the part: my blonde hair in braids, cheeks pink from the chilly air as well as apple wine, surrounded by happy townspeople sipping from their big glasses and eating wurst and potatoes.
I’m including two different green sauces here: the first an authentic one direct from Frankfurt; the second is the one that has evolved in my kitchen, one that keeps evolving depending on the herbs that are growing in my garden or the dairy products in my fridge. It is only a guideline, which is part of green sauce’s great charm. That, and the fact that it is so good!
Kartoffel mit Frankfurter Gruen Sosse
Hot Buttered Potatoes with Frankfurt Green Sauce
Serves 4
This recipe is from my book Yummy Potatoes, published by Chronicle Books; it is an adaptation of Rebecca Hecht’s who lives in Frankfurt and is kind of the queen of green: gruen sosse that is. Her–and my– friend, ballet choreographer Noah Gelber–told me often about how good her version is, and how I had to taste it. One bite and I thought: this is the nirvana of green sauces. Rebecca tells me that a typical Frankfurter Gruen Sosse consists of seven different seasonal herbs and follows the season throughout the year. In spring these include parsley, sorrel, chervil, burnet, lemon balm, borage, chives, and watercress, while later in the season basil might make its fragrant appearance. (The potatoes its served on: young, old, tender, mealy, changes with the calendar too).
1 egg per person
1 ounce fresh spinach leaves, or about 6 tablespoons frozen spinach (you want to end up with cooked, chopped, and squeezed-dry spinach)
4 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped watercress or arugula leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 to 3 teaspoons chopped dill
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mild Dijon or German mustard
Small pinch sugar
Salt and pepper
1 pound tiny baby waxy potatoes such as La Rattes, fingerlings, Pink Fir Apple, or assorted potatoes, unpeeled
Unsalted butter, for buttering potatoes
To make the Frankfurter Gruen Sosse: Hard boil the eggs, and run them under cold water for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel and coarsely chop. Set aside.
Cook the spinach leaves in a little water until wilted and darkened; remove from the hot water and set aside. When cool enough to handle, squeeze dry and finely chop.
Combine the egg, spinach, green onion, parsley, watercress, tarragon, and dill in a food processor and whirl to purée.
Transfer this finely ground green herby mixture to a bowl, add the sour cream and yogurt to taste, and stir well, then add the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir together well.
Chill at least an half hour before serving; several hours is even better.
Cook the potatoes in gently boiling water until they are tender. Drain and place in a bowl.
Let your guests serve themselves, open up the little potatoes, dab them with a nubbin of butter to melt in, and then top each with a spoonful of the green herby sauce.
Summer in Waterlooville Green Sauce
Makes about 2 cups
Serve it with a bowl of cooled boiled new or small young potatoes.
About 200g raw spinach leaves, cooked down to 1 ounce fresh spinach leaves, or about 6 tablespoons frozen spinach (you want to end up with cooked, chopped, and squeezed-dry spinach)
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped, or as desired and lusted after (this is how i feel about garlic, you may be less….uh……passionate about it. Use less in that case, more if you, like me, feel the love).
About 1/3-1/2 bouillion/stock cube, grated or smashed, or melted in the vinegar below
1-2 green onions, thinly sliced or a handful of chives, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped watercress or arugula leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 to 3 teaspoons chopped dill
2-3 teaspoons chopped mint
2-3 teaspoons chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayonaise
1 teaspoons white wine vinegar or to taste
Black pepper to taste
Combine the spinach with the garlic, crushed bouillion cube, then mix everything else in. Taste for seasoning and chill until ready to serve.
With over 70 cookbook titles (including contributions) to her credit, Marlena conjures up flavours and dishes from the Mediterranean to Mexico, California to France to the Italian islands and single subjects such as chili peppers, olive oil, mushrooms, to a book on classic Jewish food from all over the world.