A fresh and zingy sauce that doesn’t require cooking and is very versatile. We especially love it with pasta and on bruschetta.
Sauce vierge is fresh tomato and basil sauce made with olive oil, lemon juice, and capers.
Although it originated in France; it’s bright flavours and fresh flavours are very different to many other French sauces which are often rich and creamy. This sauce vierge is more like a vinaigrette than a sauce.
It is very quick to prepare – a little chopping, a little stir, and you are done. With just 5 ingredients, and no cooking; it is a recipe I love to have on hand for days when energy and time are scarce!
A light, tasty and good for you sauce! Purists may well say this recipe isn’t for a traditional sauce vierge, as many other recipes use shallots or other onions. I am not a fan of onions so I have left them out. But what it is, is delicious, and a great recipe to have up your sleeve to put on pasta or toasted bread for a quick and easy vegan dinner or lunch!
Can you make Sauce Vierge ahead?
You can make it up to a day in advance and store it in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature before serving to allow the flavours to come out.
Uses for Sauce Vierge:
Our favourite (as you can see from the photos) is to use it as a bruschetta topping, but other ways we use it:
Spoon it on top of pasta
Use it as a salad dressing or drizzle over roasted vegetables
As a dip for fresh bread
Serve over fresh seafood
As a dressing for potato salad
Make it Your Sauce Vierge:
Love onions: finely chop a spring onion and stir through the sauce
No cherry tomatoes: use ripe plum tomatoes
No basil: use parsley or chives
If you are looking for more summer recipe ideas, why not have a look at my vegan Puttanesca Pasta Salad and Spiced Chickpeas Salad, simple & fresh Watermelon & Mozzarella Salad, or vibrant Carrot & Orange Salad with Feta
Have you made this recipe? Tag me on Instagram #atmrsjoneskitchen or Facebook, or leave a comment below. I’d love to see your creation!
Sauce Vierge
Ingredients
5-7 cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tsp capers in vinegar, roughly chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp fresh basil leaves
Method
No need to peel the tomatoes, finely chop them leaving the seeds in.
Mix the tomatoes with the roughly chopped capers , lemon juice, olive oil and basil leaves then leave for 1-2 hours at room temperature to let the flavours develop.
That’s it!
I’m always looking for new dressings and sauces and I love this list of ingredients, so fresh! I am making this soon. Thanks so much for sharing!
This has so many uses as a dressing – hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
I love how many ways you can use this sauce – so versatile! I’m sure all of these ingredients make a super tasty sauce too – yum!!
It really is a very versatile sauce!
Simple and maximum flavour – off to the shops I go for some ingredients!!
Thanks Gavin – it is so simple, but so good! Hope you enjoy it too!