Languedoc Walnut, Garlic, and Oil Liaison

This sauce is called Alhada Tolosenca in the Languedoc dialect. It is made with a good handful of freshly shelled walnuts pounded in a mortar with sweet and aromatic soft-white or pink-hued garlic, then made into a smooth paste by the addition of cold water. After the paste is seasoned with salt and pepper and a tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley, walnut oil is slowly beaten in. Often the flavor is enhanced by the addition of a splash of verjus or mild cider vinegar.