When I came across the recipe for this vinaigrette, from the book Modern Sauces: Sauce-Making for Everyone by Martha Holmberg, I couldn't wait to try it. While it might sound as if it would be aggressively fishy, the vinaigrette is instead savory, tangy, and creamy all at once. It's fabulous on fish or vegetables like broccoli, potatoes or artichokes, and also makes a perfect dressing for salade Nicoise. (The only drawback to this sauce is its appearance -- with the anchovies and capers, it ends up a muddy brownish-green. I've found that increasing the parsley to 2 tablespoons, using a blender to puree the sauce, and stirring in the capers after blending results in a more attractive color.)

Recipe courtesy of Martha Holmberg, from Modern Sauces: Sauce-Making for Everyone, Chronicle Books, 2012.

Ingredients

• 1 2-ounce tin anchovy fillets in oil (about 10 fillets)
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 -2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 small clove garlic, chopped (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon capers (see note)
• Fresh ground black pepper

• Yield: About 2/3 cup

Preparation

1. In a small food processor, combine the anchovies, vinegar or lemon juice, capers (see note), parsley, and garlic and process until pureed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and then the cream and process until well blended. The dressing won't be completely smooth.

2. Stir in the capers and season with pepper.

You probably won't need to add any salt because of the anchovies and capers, but taste the dressing and add some if you do. Whisk to blend just before serving.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for pureeing the capers along with all the other ingredients, but I prefer to stir them in whole after the vinaigrette is pureed. I like the texture of the whole capers and also find that pureeing them makes the sauce less attractive. 
• If you want a smoother, greener sauce, use a blender with a small jar to puree all the ingredients except the capers. (The blender breaks up the parsley more completely than a food processor.)
• While you can use red wine vinegar in this recipe, it doesn't help the color. I recommend lemon juice if you don't have white wine vinegar.