Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri sauce is an amazingly refreshing concoction of fresh, green herbs, olive oil and garlic, with a few other ingredients thrown in. It is attributed to Argentinian cuisine, which is often overlooked in my opinion, but it seems to have derived oringinally from a basic Genovese Pesto. Since its preparation involves no meat, stock, eggs or dairy, I feel that I can truly include this in the “Vegetarian” category.
The main ingredient in Chimichurri sauce is parsley. You can use the domestic curly leaf variety, but the standard, classic choice is to use the flat-leaf Italian parsley. Other herbs that are often used for additional flavoring, but not in such a large amount, are oregano, basil and cilantro. It is important to use fresh, green herbs for this sauce, and not the dried spices, since we are looking for a nice vibrant taste instead of a deeper, more subtle flavor. If you prefer to use other herbs instead of parsley, go ahead; you can create a ton of different flavors with this simple recipe. Just be sure to use herbs that break down easily; rosemary is one that will not, and you will be stuck with large pieces that won’t be all that pleasing.
First, start with a large bunch of parsley (or whatever main herb you want to use) and chop it up roughly. Do the same with whatever additional herbs you want to flavor it with, and put all of them aside. Now take about two or three cloves of garlic, gently crush them with the side of a knife to release the skin, and toss the skin away. Now chop up a small amount of onion, or even better, a shallot. Shallots are similar to onions, and if you have never had them, you should absolutely try them. They are much smaller than onions, and slightly milder, so they work very well in recipes where there is no heat involved, such as this one. By contrast, they do not stand up to cooking quite as well as onions do, so use onions instead where sauteeing or frying is being done.
Put the onion, shallot and garlic in a food processor and give it a quick pulse to break them down a little. (You can do this manually if you like, but it will take a bit longer. Also, I find that blenders don’t break down the herbs very well.) Now add the herbs and process them whole mix until it has broken down. We don’t want to make herb dust with this, but we don’t want large chunks or whole leaves either. Now begin to drizzle olive oil in the processor as you continue to puree the sauce. Keep adding olive oil until you have a thick sauce that will run slowly. You don’t want too much oil, as it will separate after serving. Just enough to create a homogenous mass is what you want.
You can also add a few chili flakes if you like — not too much, just enough to wake up the palate and let it get the full blast of the fresh, green flavors. However, this is one of the few sauces that I do not add salt to; I find it interferes with the refreshing quality of the herbs.
Some people say that Chimichurri needs to be made and served fresh; others feel that you need a few hours to allow the flavors to penetrate the oil. I do notice that my leftover chimichurri has a more powerful taste to it, but it is not as “fresh” tasting either, so I would go with whatever you feel like doing, based on the type of flavor you want. Just don’t let it sit for more than a day or two, after which it will definitely be inferior.
So what do you use this delectably herbacious treat on? Well, despite the fact that this is a vegetarian preparation, I do enjoy it on any meat or seafood; but it also goes well on potatoes, rice, or even just toast! My kids have also asked that I make this for the next time I make hot dogs in place of relish! Anything savory that needs to be woken up will be improved with Chimichurri.
A final note: This is one sauce that you can feel very good about health-wise. All those herbs contain a bunch of vitamins and lots of fibre, and even the fat in the olive oil is a very high-quality and not at all detrimental to good health. But again, I think you will be most impressed with the flavor. Just watch out for the parsley in the teeth!
Yours in Good Taste,
Erik Christensen