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Strip Steaks with Walnut, Parsley and Caper Sauce
From the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, aillade is an emulsified sauce of nuts, garlic and oil. It’s not uncommon to find versions that call for almonds or pistachios, but here we use the traditional walnut. Aillade is undeniably rich, so to lift its flavor and make a delicious accompaniment to simple seared steak, we add lemon zest and juice, capers and a good amount of parsley. We also keep the texture rather coarse and thin the consistency with water.
4 to 6
Servings
Don’t put unchopped nuts and parsley into the food processor. A cursory chop before grinding ensures the sauce has a uniform texture. Also, don’t use extra-virgin olive oil to sear the steaks, as its smoke point is too low. Use grapeseed or other neutral oil to achieve the best browning and to avoid the off flavor of overheated olive oil.
30 minutes
Ingredients
-
½
cup walnuts, roughly chopped
-
2
tablespoons fresh oregano, roughly chopped
Directions
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01In a food processor, combine the walnuts, oregano, capers and garlic. Set aside 2 tablespoons of parsley for serving, then add the remainder to the food processor. Process until finely ground, about 10 seconds. Add the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, 2 tablespoons water, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper, then pulse until well combined, 3 to 5 pulses. Transfer to a small bowl; set aside.
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This recipe showed up the day we were actually grilling strip steaks so it was a no brainer to try it. I don't usually have walnuts so I substituted pecans. What a great sauce. We used the leftover sauce the next night on grilled chicken thighs/legs and it was great on that too. Definitely will make this sauce a lot. We might try it on pork chops next. Thank you for an awesome recipe that will be used many times. We have been smoking our own pecans and almonds so next time I might put in the smoked ones as a variation.