Chimichurri

We have close family friends that are Argentine and make their Chimichurri from scratch. Every time we go to their home, there is always fresh chimichurri, bread and grilled sausages. My husband loves chimichurri but he’s not a veggie person. I wanted to find a recipe that didn’t call for so much parsley but still had the same consistency and similar flavors as an authentic chimichurri. I made these two different ways and gave him a blind taste test. One way was only with parsley, red wine vinegar, garlic, fresh oregano, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, and extra-virgin olive oil. The other way was with lemon juice, parsley, cilantro, garlic, dried oregano, crushed red pepper, kosher salt, and extra-virgin olive oil. His favorite and mine too: the one with cilantro and lemon juice. It is even better the second day. Try finding Aji molido (ground red pepper from Argentina) is also known as aji triturado (crushed red pepper) and, at times, aji picante or aji picante molido (hot pepper.) It is more fine that you normal crushed red pepper you find in basic supermarkets. Order it online. Trust me.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Extra-virgin olive oil – I used Kirkland brand but use a really good quality

1/4 cup of lemon juice

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley, no stems

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro, no stems

2 tablespoons of fresh chopped garlic

1 tablespoon of dry oregano

1 tablespoon of red crushed pepper, Aji Molido / Aji Triturado

1/2 tablespoon of Kosher Salt to taste

Instructions:

Chop all your parsley and cilantro very fine

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl

Optional: toss in the food processor for 5 seconds doing a quick pulse

If you want to be very precise...add the following into your food processor one at a time and blend in between each. Garlic goes in 1st, then the parsley and cilantro. Next you will add in the oregano, crushed red pepper, and salt. Blending completely. Now add in your lemon juice, blend, and lastly add in your olive oil. 

Refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving and even better if you can marinate overnight or two days ahead in a canning jar. Keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Serve alongside a delicious barbequed tri-tip and rip pieces off fresh baguette loaves dipping it in the chimichurri – you can also grill up sausages and make sandwiches using the chimichurri as the sauce.

Inspired by: the stylist quo http://thestylistquo.com/