A New Kind of Verde: Green Jalapeño Cilantro

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who love cilantro and those who think it tastes like soap. I'm a lover. For me, it transcends a single flavor and instead assumes the role of "fresh". That's powerful. And addicting.

This isn't my first time trying to harness that power in a sauce. Years ago I made something called Green Queen — green jalapeño, avocado, cilantro, and a handful of other ingredients I thought would round it out. It tasted fine. But it never shipped, because I couldn't tell you what it was actually for. Too many ingredients, no clear job for any of them, built toward "tastes good" instead of toward anything specific. That sauce taught me the rule that shapes everything I make now: an ingredient has to earn its place, and a sauce needs to know what it's solving before it gets to be good. As fun as it is to add more ingredients to a recipe, it's often after I subtract the ones that are redundant, or conflicting with the goal, that I find the clarity I'm looking for.

With Green Jalapeño Cilantro, I wanted to showcase that same freshness, this time with a real point of view.

Cilantro can be delicate and volatile and muddy, and I wanted to avoid that (obviously). I felt it needed a companion that didn't steal the show, but instead acted as a spotlight to its green, herby freshness. 

This is where a bit of a twist comes: smoked green apple. Green apple (Granny Smith in this case) is bright, tart, almost citrus-like, and subtly sweet—all characteristics I thought could complement, even enhance, cilantro. But, I imagined this sauce on tacos and wanted to bring a touch of depth that whispered about the charred goodness of carne asada or carnitas or al pastor. That's where the smoke comes in. It's subtle enough that it doesn't read as smoke, but I think it transforms the green apple in a way that keeps the tartness in check and the cilantro bright and fresh.

Use this sauce anywhere you want bright, fresh, herby, cilantro-y goodness. Basically, it's your new verde in a bottle. If you need inspiration, start with street tacos, carne asada, bahn mi, and everything charred, grilled, and sizzled.