Chimichurri Sauce with almost anything is an excellent weekday meal as it is quick and easy to make and makes you look like a gourmet chef
Chimichurri sauce is an Argentinian sauce that lights up almost any dish. It is quick to whip up and you don't need to marinate your meat etc. for too long in it.
South America in a bowl
Chimichurri is not really a marinade or sauce but really a bit of both and better than most marinades in how quickly its flavors seep into meat and a great dipping sauce for almost anything. If you have been to South America, you will recognize the rich flavors of the sauce that is used as a marinade for meats, if you haven't this is a great way to experience it without going there.
I love Chimichurri Sauce because it is so easy to make and does not make a mess in the kitchen -- all you need is a good blender, a cutting board, knife and the ingredients. You will only use one bowl to hold the marinade which is nice as my wife likes a clean kitchen.
Ingredients
2 bunches of Flat Leaf Italian Parsley
1 bunch Cilantro
4 cloves of Garlic
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 lime
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (add more to make it thinner)
1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes (add more if you like it to have a kick)
Making the sauce
Put all the ingredients except for the olive oil in the blender. Start the blender at a low speed and blend 30 seconds until all the leaves are chopped up and ingredients mixed well. Now at a slow speed with the top open (not the full lid, just the small opening) slowly pour the olive oil so it mixes well and starts to turn into a past, you may need to blend for 2-5 minutes until it becomes a coarse liquid. For grilling it is best to get it really finely pureed as the meat absorbs the flavors better but if you like to taste the individual ingredients and textures when used as a dipping sauce you may leave it a little coarse like in the picture above.
You can use the sauce to marinate and cook meat (see below). Remember to reserve some for an amazing dipping sauce served with the meat.
Chimichurri Steak
Chimichurri sauce goes best with Steak - my favorite is skirt steak as it really absorbs the sauce and does not need a lot of time to marinate. This is handy on weekdays when you have to finish work and have less than an hour to make dinner. Simply make the sauce as above. Reserve a portion (maybe 1/4th) for dipping and coat the skirt steak (after washing and patting it dry) in a pan. Coat it thoroughly so all surfaces are coated. Leave covered for about 15-30 minutes.
I usually grill the steaks, I cut it into manageable pieces -- usually 4-5 for a skirt, and first sear them at high heat for about a minute and then grill at medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the steak, usually the pieces are a little unevenly thick so you might do 3 minutes for the thinner pieces and 5 on each side for the thicker pieces.
Once grilled, let the steaks sit for 3-5 minutes before serving so the juices go back into the middle of the steak and don't run out when you slice them.
Serve the steaks with the dipping sauce and sides -- my favorite side is the roasted root vegetables (see recipe here in this blog). If you don't have all the root vegetables, you can make it with just potatoes. I usually will add some greens like haricot vert or asparagus to give it an overall healthy look and feel!
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