Chimichurri sauce – a best friend to beef

This Argentinian condiment is quick, easy and is the perfect fresh compliment to rich, beefy steaks.

Sometimes, it’s fun to stand in the kitchen for hours burying yourself in dirty pots, expensive ingredients and complicated techniques. And sometimes you just want to make something quick and easy, that is as delicious and impressive as an elaborate recipe, but with a fraction of the work. If you though making fire-roasted salsa was easy, you’re gunna love Chimichurri.

In it’s basic form, Chimichurri is an assortment of different herbs, a light hint of chili and a pretty big whack of garlic all bound with olive oil – no cooking required. Because you use at least 3-4 different herbs, it has a great complexity of flavor despite being so basic to create.

I love serving Chimi with lamb and beef cuts like tri-tip, but it goes great with just about any kind of steak, particularly if you’re looking for a fresher option to heavy and dense creamy sauces (hey, we can’t mainline Bernaise all the time, right?). It keeps for a while in the fridge, just make sure you add enough oil to keep the herbs covered.

All you need is a food processor or stick blender with an attachment, recipe after the pics.

Easy Argentinian Chimichurri sauce

Ingredients

• 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
• 1 bunch cilantro/corriander
• 1 bunch fresh oregano
• 4-5 springs of thyme (discard the woody stems and use leaves only)
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 mild-medium heat chile
• Olive oil to blend
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Clean and dry all herbs, chop roughly and place into food processor.
2. Add in roughly chopped chili, garlic, salt and lemon juice.
3. Blend to combine, until herbs are chopped into very small pieces. You want to make sure that you do the majority of your blending before the oil goes in.
4. On medium speed, drizzle in olive oil until mixture combines. There should be oil present on the spoon when you spoon your Chimichurri out, so make sure it's not too dry. Don't over-chop when adding the oil, as it may start to emulsify and make the final sauce cloudy.
5. Scoop into a bowl and serve. Can be made several hours in advance and kept in fridge.