I call this a salad, with the excuse that these sorts of grainy pastes are often thus described in Greece and the rest of the Eastern Mediterranean from where, give or take, this emanates, but the real reason is that in the struggle between ‘dip’ and ‘purée’, neither won out. I urgently needed to convey to you the simple freshness, the raw-depthed flavour, of this combination: once you make it (I won’t begin to call it cooking) you’ll be convinced, but I didn’t want any unseemly word to get in the way before you even start. You might now gather that, however it’s named, it’s best eaten by sludging it over chunks of raw vegetable, or just by dipping them into it.
25g each of: fresh mint, parsley and basil
200g feta cheese
200g shelled walnuts, chopped
6 spring onions
1 clove garlic
half teaspoon salt
pepper
1 tablespoon lime juice
60ml olive oil
Process all of the above to make a grainy paste. That’s it. What are you waiting for?
Serves 4–6 with cruditées.