Chimichuri
 

I made chimichuri today. It wasn't half bad! Just some olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and spices. The recipe called for an onion too, but I didn't have one. It seems like one of those things that can take a lot of variation in the recipe.

HOw do you like to make it?

I thought very, very finely minced parsley in olive oil was the main ingredient with garlic, red pepper and salt. No vinegar.

I make mine from finely chopped fresh oregano, fresh thyme if I have it...usually dies on me, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Some people here put basil in it as well.

I tried chimichuri several times at Chimichuri Grill in NY. Its small but classic. Exceptional flavor with beef sauce and chimichuri sauce. If you like scared animal flesh, its very consistent place with excellent steaks and fabulous sauces.

That is the preparation I had the other day. It was served with fried calamari.
Delicious.

I just started making it in the blender this year. Serve it over grilled, sliced steak. Mmmmmmmm

Seems like Chimichurri is somewhat like a Garam Masala, in that the ingredients can vary by family, region, availability of ingredients. I'd say find one that best suits your palate by refining it.

The advice I will give is to use flat leaf (Italian) parsley over the curly Domestic kind. Also, if you do use parsley or basil, blanch and shock the leaves so that your sauce retains a nice lively green shade, as opposed to a dull dark green.

Blanching and/or using the blender or Cuisineart doesn't produce as good taste and texture in chimichurri as parsley minced with a chef's knife. Minced parsley tastes better, has the right texture, and doesn't get brown before you can serve dinner. On the other hand, pesto with basil made in a blender turns out fine.

Ditto mincing, especially using Italian "Flat leaf" instead of the cute but bland "Curly" variety. I suspect that the classic South American versions likewise may omit vinegar, but I like a squeeze of fresh lime juice in mine...

I forgot to mention the parsley. I also know some people who add a touch of mayonnaise to theirs. Also the guy who owns the parrilla where we sometimes get a cooked chicken from uses a secret formula....he wouldn't tell me what he put in it when I asked him although there is definitely some lemon in there.

A lot of the chimichuri here is made from dry ready mixed stuff which you just add some vinegar and oil.

I'm ashamed to say I had never made it before, seeing as it is so darn easy I will be making it again in the near future.

Here is the recipe I made:
1. 1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
2. 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3. 4 large garlic cloves, minced (2 1/2 tablespoons)
4. 2 tablespoons oregano leaves
5. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
6. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a food processor, combine the parsley, vinegar, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper. Process until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and pour the olive oil over the mixture. Let stand for at least 20 minutes.

I did not process until smooth but only let the processor do a coarse chop.

I then grilled some fantastic skirt steaks on the grill & served with the chimichurri. The above recipe called for some red pepper flakes but I left those out by mistake, I know I or the other diners didn't miss them.

I presume that's fresh oregano?

Seems like all of you are forgetting about the cilantro.

It should be the second main herb after the flat leaf parsley.

I wondered about that. I googled chimichurri. Some recipes have it and some don't. Seems like some of those that have flat leaf parsley don't have cilantro and vice versa.

I've never liked cilantro.

Cilantro seems to be one of those things that you either love or hate. I'm a lover. ;)

sorry for delay, yes, fresh oregano

From my foodservice days I recall a statistic that I believe to be true, fully 20% of the population does NOT like the taste of cilantro.

Using cilantro is a regional/local choice with cilantro-fortified salsas being de rigueur in Mexico and Central America, but far less often used in Southern South America, the "home" of Chimichur(r)i.

Flat leaf parsley and fresh oregano (often the "Mexican" variety, a bit different from the classic European herb), onion, garlic, salt, olive oil, and then then 2 areas of debate....

For me raw Serrano chiles are far preferable to any of the dried reds, and the choice of red wine vinegar or fresh lime juice gives rise ro some argument, usually based on the latitude of origin of the debaters. There are even some "Bitter orange juice" fans out there.

"Fusion"? Thin slices of grilled rare sirloin served on fresh warm corn tortillas with a bowl of chimichurri

Chileans eat cilantro on practically a daily basis, in their favorite salsa, "pebre,'" which they typically eat on buttered bread rolls rather than on tortilla chips, and they also routinely eat cilantro on fish and shellfish, among other things.

So do Ecuadorians. I lived with a family there when I was in a foreign studies program in college. There was always ají (a concoction with peppers, onions, cilantro, tomatoes and water) on the table, which was pretty much used on everything savory. Plain vegetables routinely were sprinkled with cilantro. It's also in ceviche.