Frankfurter Grüne Sauce
Created | Updated Jan 20, 2011
Frankfurter Grüne Sauce, locally known as Grie Soß1, is a dish of seven or more herbs that is traditionally eaten on Gründonnerstag ( Maundy Thursday ) in Frankfurt. Rumour says it was Frankfurt's most famous son Goethe's favourite dish and that he asked his mother, Katharina Elisabeth Textor-Goethe, known locally as Aja Textor2, to serve it on the Thursday before Easter. Alexander von Humboldt is said to have given precise instructions to the Royal Kitchen in Potsdam as to which herbs should be delivered on Maundy Thursday from the Royal Gardens3 . Nobody knows exactly where the green sauce derives from, some say it's based on the French vinaigrette. A similar dish is known in Austria.
It is now no longer a local dish only, but eaten throughout the Hesse province and the world.
Due to the fact that Easter is either in March or early April, most of the herbs used for the sauce weren't cultivated in people's gardens,seeding and planting usually only started on Maundy Thursday, hence wild herbs were collected.
Recipes vary, but the traditional Grüne Sauce, which you can buy pre-packed, contains the following herbs:
parsley
borage
chives
sorrel
chervil
burnet
lemon balm
other herbs which may be contained are
lovage
tarragon
dill
Ingredients
For a meal for four you need :
300g ( total ) of the aforementioned herbs, you should try to find at least seven different herbs
2 onions
4 hard boiled eggs
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 l sour cream
150g yoghurt
a pinch of sugar
salt and pepper
400g new potatoes , boiled
Method
Sort the herbs, wash and dry them, chop with a mezzaluna ( recommended to get best results.)
Peel and chop the onions,put herbs and onions into a large bowl. Add all ingredients except the eggs. Mix thoroughly, cover the bowl with a lid and put it into the fridge for an hour. Chop the eggs, add them to the sauce and mix again. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with boiled potatoes in their skins.
