This lovely recipe, which I could eat every day, is from Spain. Salsas with olives and nuts are not uncommon there and they are simply fantastic with meat and fish. Even those who don’t care for olives love this salsa.

The salty, briny, garlicky, tart nature of this chunky sauce is extraordinary. You can also serve the sauce on fish and chicken. This recipe comes from a cookbook I brought back from my travels there – The New Spanish Table by Anya von Bremzen. I’ve modified it slightly.

  • 2 strip loin steaks, cold, 1” thick
  • Salt and pepper, to season
  • Salsa
  • 1/3 cup lightly toasted and cooled almonds – whole, sliced or slivered
  • 1/3 – ½ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
  • 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp drained capers
  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp paprika, not smoked
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Salt, to season

In a clean dry blender jar or food processor, pulse the almonds until coarse but not as fine as ground almonds. Transfer to a bowl.

In the same blender jar, add the parsley, olives, capers, paprika, black pepper, red wine vinegar and about 4 tbsp olive oil. Pulse to a coarse paste, adding a bit more olive oil if necessary. Transfer to the bowl with the almonds. Stir in the remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Taste and season with salt. Set aside.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the cold steaks with salt and pepper. Whe the skillet is good and hot, add some oil to the skillet and cook the steaks for about 3 minutes on both sides for rare-medium rare steaks. Remove the steaks to a plate and let rest. Slice crosswise into wide strips. Place on a platter and spoon over the salsa. Serve with a salad and crusty bread.