Shatta (Middle Eastern Hot Sauce)

Shatta (Middle Eastern Hot Sauce)

Adapted from Cookie and Kate

 ¼ cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves
¼ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
¼ cup raw walnuts or pepitas
4 cloves garlic
1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt (scale back to 1 teaspoon if using regular table salt)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
10 twists of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
8 ounces fresh jalapeño peppers (about 6 medium-to-large), sliced into chunks
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil 

1. In a food processor, combine everything but the jalapeños and olive oil. Blend until the ingredients are finely chopped, pausing to scrape down the sides as necessary.

2. Add the jalapeños and pulse until the peppers are finely chopped, but not completely obliterated.

3. Stir the olive oil into the sauce by hand, and transfer to a bowl for serving. If the sauce is outrageously spicy at first, give it a 30-minute rest or longer—it usually mellows out a bit.

This sauce keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for 1 to 2 weeks.