Garlic-free bagnet verd with pickles and capers

Ingredients

• 5 to 6 gherkins
• 5 to 6 pieces of pickled vegetables (such as giardiniera)
• 1 tablespoon of capers in brine
• 2 tablespoons of sautéed mushrooms (button and/or chanterelle)
• 4 to 5 pitted green olives
• 1/4 of a red onion (or one small new onion)
• a handful of bread crumbs
• 5 to 6 desalted anchovies, gutted and with the tails removed
• One large bunch of parsley
• extra virgin olive oil
• vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• chili powder or ground black pepper

Wash the parsley and remove the stems.

Soak the bread crust in vinegar.

On a cutting board, chop the pickles, pickled vegetables, olives, and mushrooms into small pieces. Finely slice the onion.

Add the parsley and finely chop everything using a mezzaluna knife.

Place the mixture in a mortar and grind until you have a smooth, uniform paste with no visible lumps.

Finely chop the anchovies on a cutting board until you have a smooth paste. This step is not necessary if you are using anchovy paste.

Add the anchovies to the mixture, then the squeezed breadcrumbs. Incorporate the whole capers, without chopping them.

Add a generous spoonful of mustard and mix until you have a smooth mixture.

Slowly pour the oil in, mixing as you would for mayonnaise, until you reach the desired consistency.

Finish with a pinch of chili powder or black pepper: the hot pepper should only provide a slight warmth, and the sauce should not be overly spicy.

Serve in a small bowl.