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About this recipe

✨

Recipe highlight

Why you’ll love it

Fresh parsley, toasted walnuts, lemon, garlic, and olive oil make this Balkan sauce bright, nutty, rustic, and wildly useful. 🌿

Ingredients

• Herb base 🌿
• 🌿 80 g fresh parsley leaves and tender stems (2 packed cups / 2.8 oz)
• 🌰 70 g walnuts, toasted (⅔ cup / 2.5 oz)
• 🧄 8 g garlic, finely grated (2 cloves / 0.28 oz)
• 🍋 35 ml lemon juice (2 tbsp + 1 tsp / 1.2 fl oz)
• 🍷 15 ml apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• Sauce body 🫒
• 🫒 120 ml olive oil (½ cup / 4 fl oz)
• 💧 45 ml cold water, as needed (3 tbsp / 1.5 fl oz)
• 🍯 7 g honey or sugar (1½ tsp / 0.25 oz)
• 🧂 5 g fine sea salt (¾ tsp / 0.18 oz)
• ⚫ 2 g black pepper (1 tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🌶️ 1 g chili flakes, optional (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• Finish ✨
• 🌿 10 g fresh parsley, finely chopped (¼ cup / 0.35 oz)
• 🌰 15 g walnuts, crushed (2 tbsp / 0.5 oz)
• 🍋 1 tsp lemon zest, optional

Preparation

• 1 Toast the walnuts 🌰 Place the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 4–5 min, shaking often, until fragrant. Cool for 5 min before blending.
• 2 Prepare the parsley 🌿 Rinse the parsley well and dry it properly. Use the leaves and tender stems, because the stems bring extra fresh flavor.
• 3 Blend the base 🧄 Add parsley, toasted walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, salt, black pepper, and chili flakes if using to a food processor. Pulse for 20–30 sec until finely chopped.
• 4 Add olive oil 🫒 With the processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil. Blend for 20 sec until the sauce becomes glossy but still slightly textured.
• 5 Adjust the texture ✨ Add cold water 1 tbsp at a time until the sauce is spoonable. Keep it rustic, not perfectly smooth. Taste and adjust with extra lemon or salt if needed.
• 6 Finish and rest 🛋 Stir in the extra chopped parsley, crushed walnuts, and lemon zest if using. Let the sauce rest for 10 min so the walnut, garlic, lemon, and herbs settle together.
• 7 Serve fresh 🌿 Spoon over grilled meats, roasted potatoes, fish, beans, warm bread, or Balkan pogača. Serve at room temperature for the best aroma.

Timing details

Nutrition

Estimated values per serving.

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