Parsley Shallot Sauce: The Glory of Green

My apologies for the last couple of days, dear readers. I’ve been horribly delinquent with the blog due to a combination of Easter, work, and trying to pick up “Lost” in its fourth season. (Note: not a good idea. Every 15 minutes or so an event transpires where The Boyfriend yells, “AUUUUGH! NO WAY!” and it’s like, a guy mopping or something. He assures me that it has gigantic meaning in the context of the series, but … mopping. Yeah.)

Anyway, we were down in Virginia this past weekend to visit his family/play Throw the Rock with his gobsmackingly adorable nephew. (Seriously, this kid makes Suri Cruise look like the Elephant Man.) ‘Twas a lovely time, as it’s a lovely place, and they’re lovely people (also: cutthroat card players). And while there were many highlights, my favorite was a conversation with a local three-year-old, during which I learned the following:

1) “The Eastew Bunny was heah last night.”
2) “I have DIAWHHEA.”
3) “Diawwhea HUWTS.”

Too true, kid. Too true.

All the festivities kept me from cooking anything, much less anything resembling health food. Fortunately, I had a banked recipe in my back pocket for just such an occasion. (Note: not literally. A back pocket full of recipes would be silly, not to mention hard to sit on.)

A few weeks ago, The Boyfriend and I were experimenting with pork. We made Ellie Krieger’s Herb Roasted Pork Loin with Parsley Shallot Sauce twice, and both times, the roast was unbearably dry. It was a shame, because the Parsley Shallot Sauce was really, really, really fargin’ good. So good, in fact, we both ate it with a spoon afterward. And usually it’s just me doing that.

Two pig-based meals later, we finally got the cooking methods and temperatures down for the pork (seen here). Alas, we had moved on to other toppings. Well – now, Parsley Shallot Sauce gets its due. The recipe is listed below in all its green majesty, awaiting your roast. I promise, at the very least, it will not give you diawhhea. Because that would huwt.

(Oh yeah - please note that I only made a third of a batch [listed here] because it’s just TB and I eating. The proportions on Ellie’s site are designed to serve a much larger crowd.)

Parsley Shallot Sauce
Makes 3 servings (good enough for a 1-lb roast)
Adapted from Ellie Krieger.

1/2 cups lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped shallot
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons water
2/3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/16 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1) Add all ingredients to a blender. Puree until pretty smooth. Serve over pork, as prepared here. 

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
38 calories, 4.7 g fat, $0.44

Calculations
1/2 cups lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves: 11 calories, 0.2 g fat, $0.66
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped shallot: 5 calories, 0 g fat, $0.25
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard: 15 calories, 0 g fat, $0.17
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil: 79 calories, 8.9 g fat, $0.06
2 teaspoons water: negligible calories and fat, free
2/3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice: 3 calories, 0 g fat, $0.17
1/16 teaspoon salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
Freshly ground black pepper: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
TOTAL: 113 calories, 14.1 g fat, $1.33
PER SERVING (TOTAL/3): 38 calories, 4.7 g fat, $0.44