Triestine Sauce or Salsa Triestina is particular to Trieste, Italy. It goes well on salads as a dressing but it also works well with beef, roasted pork, and vegetables. The sauce is not heavy so it especially compliments delicate greens such as the radicchio in the Insalata Triestina.
For this recipe, you will need feta cheese, fresh lemons, poppy seeds, extra-virgin olive oil.

The use of feta cheese may seem unusual in Italian cuisine but it's not. There has been a Greek presence in Trieste for a long time. In fact, Trieste cuisine has many influences due to the fact that it is a port city and that it borders other countries.
This recipe relies heavenly on q.b. quanto basta -- (whatever is enough) or however much you prefer. Also, it depends on the quality of the ingredients you have on hand. For instance, if the feta cheese is dense you will need more liquid to soften it or less liquid if it is soft.
If the cheese is already tangy then you will need less lemon juice and if it is bland you will need more. The addition of the extra-virgin olive oil is all personal and it does not play the major role in this sauce. It is imperative that you taste the combination of feta and lemon before adding the oil.
Check out Insalata Triestina (Triestine Salad) it is the ideal dressing for this typical Northern Italian salad.
Tutti a tavola è pronto!
Un caro saluto e alla prossima.
📖 Recipe
Triestine Sauce {Salsa Triestina}
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh feta cheese
- 1 to 2 large lemons juiced. Sweet lemons such as the Meyer would be preferable.
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- Delicate extra-extra virgin olive oil q.b. quanto basta
Instructions
- Break up the cheese with a fork.
- Add lemon juice and poppy seeds and mix in.
- Put ingredients in glass jar and shake vigorously to combine.
- This is where you need to taste to see if it needs additional lemon juice.
- Add a little bit of oil -- enough so that it has a silky texture -- add more if needed and to your taste.
- The end result should be creamy and not runny.
Notes
- An emersion blender would work well to get a creamy smooth sauce.
Nutrition
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