Chimichurri Sauce

Chimichurri, a sauce with a spicy flavor and a real summer flavor. It’s an oil-based condiment good primarily for grilled meats or kebabs. For the base of chimichurri sauce you always need parsley and garlic, which almost every vegetable garden has in abundance. The sauce is the South American answer to Italian pesto, only much more budget-friendly. Making chimichurri sauce is a great way to harvest and make a delicious sauce. Plus, it’s very healthy.

Chimichurri is often compared to Italian pesto. They do, indeed, have obvious similarities. Both are made mostly with oil and herbs plus require minimal culinary skills – both chimichurri and pesto can be made even by novice cooks. However, they are different in taste. Chimichurri lacks the saltiness of hard cheeses like pecorino or parmesan, and it lacks pine nuts. But it stands out with its bright sourish-spicy flavor, which is just designed for a strong friendship with roasted meat.

Chimichurri, a sauce with an unusual name

Miguel Brasco, a writer and foodie from Argentina, claims that the word chimichurri originated in the early 19th century, when the British were trying to take over the Spanish colonies. Captive local warriors asked for condiments for their meager meals, mixing words in English, Spanish, and the local dialect. There is speculation that the request sounded like “che mi curry” or “che mi salsa,” and then the name of the thick sauce of fresh herbs turned into chimichurri.

Another etymological theory reports that chimichurri came from Basque settlers who arrived in Argentina in the early 19th century. Allegedly the name of the sauce comes from the Basque tximitxurri, which loosely translated means “hodgepodge” or “random mixture of several things.

Chimichurri, how to use the sauce

Chimichurri is popular throughout South America, from Mexico to Argentina. The herbal spicy taste of chimichurri sauce pairs perfectly with the tangy, smoky flavor of charred beef. It’s a must at an Argentine picnic or traditional family barbecue, where chimichurri is used to flavor steaks, sausages, sausages, and sometimes served with poultry or fish. Usually it is not taken as a marinade, instead the parsley sauce is poured over the meat during cooking. Chimichurri goes well with burgers, for which the cutlets are cooked on fire.

Chimichurri is a key ingredient in Argentine hot dogs. It is customary to serve them to eaters as an appetizer while guests wait for large chunks of meat to be grilled. In general, chimichurri goes well with any hot dog, toast or sandwich as long as there is meat in it.

Try adding chimichurri to hot dog mayonnaise or sprinkling it on an assortment of thinly sliced deli meats spread on a plate.

Pour the sauce over vegetables that have just been grilled, or use chimichurri as a sauce for a spicy meat pizza.

You can mix chimichurri with crispy fried potatoes, add it to scrambled eggs and bacon or to a thick soup made with meat broth. And how good are beef ribs with chimichurri!

Chimichurri, a sauce that has its secrets

Chimichurri is good because its recipe is very simple, but there are a few tips and tricks for taking the sauce to the next level.

• Don’t be tempted to use a food processor or blender to make chimichurri. Chimichurri requires no more than 10-15 minutes of active manual chopping and stirring. Spend them on this one! Honestly, a sauce made entirely by hand tastes so much better. If you use a food processor, you run the risk of over-mixing the ingredients and getting too homogeneous a paste.
• Vinegar gives chimichurri its distinctive tangy flavor, so it’s important to use the right one. Red wine vinegar, with its strong flavor and high acidity, is the best choice. If you don’t have it, lemon juice is a better substitute than other vinegars, many of which are too mild or too sweet.
• When making chimichurri, experiment with shades of flavor until you get the perfect balance. Use the amount of ingredients listed in the recipe as a guide, but feel free to add a little more of this or that ingredient to suit your taste.
• Allow the chimichurri to stand for at least 15 minutes before serving to allow all the flavors to develop and the buttery base to soak in the flavors of the other ingredients. For best results, place the chimichurri sauce in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Chimichurri, a sauce best eaten on the day it’s made, but that’s not certain

Chimichurri will be most vibrant and flavorful when made “from under the knife” (infusion time doesn’t count). It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, but the parsley will begin to slowly wilt after a couple of days and can lose some of its flavor.

Chimichurri sauce can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month, although, again, it will lose some of its flavor. Try freezing it in ice molds to use chimichurri a little at a time as a condiment when you need it.

Chimichurri, a healthy sauce

Chimichurri sauce is a very healthy dish because it is made with healthy ingredients and they are not subjected to heat treatment and therefore do not change their “healthy” composition.

Chimichurri sauce contains carotenes, calcium, iron, vitamins A and C, fiber, and monounsaturated fats contained in olive oil, which can reduce harmful cholesterol.

Chimichurri, our signature recipe

To make chimichurri yourself, simply gather all the ingredients available and then chop with a knife what needs to be chopped and mix what needs to be blended.

To make chimichurri, a sauce for large company, you need:

Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, shallots are better
• 20 sprigs each of parsley and cilantro, you can reduce cilantro in favor of parsley
• 2 sprigs of oregano leaves, preferably
• half a small chili pepper, preferably a green one
• 3 to 4 cloves of garlic
• 60 ml of red wine vinegar
• 130 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. ground red chili pepper
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Cut the onion into four pieces. Coarsely chop the parsley, coriander and oregano. Remove the seeds and membranes from the chili pepper. Chop all the ingredients you have prepared together with the garlic as finely as possible. If there is no time, chop them in the bowl of a blender.
2. Add vinegar and mix until smooth.
3. Transfer the resulting mixture to a wide-mouth jar, add olive oil, season with salt, black and red pepper to taste. Seal the jar with a lid and shake it vigorously for a couple of minutes to mix. If the sauce seems thick, add a little cold boiling water.
4. Leave for 5 minutes to allow the chimichurri sauce to release its flavor. Taste the sauce and add more garlic, chili pepper or salt as needed.
5. Refrigerate for 2 hrs and serve to everyone’s delight.