So, chimichurri has its origins in Argentine and Uruguayan cuisine. In its base form, it’s parsley and garlic, finely chopped, with oregano, olive oil, and red wine vinegar.
It’s an absolutely brilliant all-purpose goo, really. It’s a great marinade, it’s a great sauce/condiment, it works well as a salad dressing – heck, it’s even a good dip for crackers and chips. I’ve definitely been known to use leftover chimichurri as a sauce base for green chilaquiles, and let me tell you how amazing that is.
Anyway, because I am chronically unable to leave recipes alone, and because I learned chimichurri a different way, here’s my version:
The Goods:
1 bunch parsley, leaves picked and stems discarded
1 bunch cilantro (the stems are perfectly edible)
big handful peeled garlic cloves
1 smallish onion, cut into chunks (I used yellow but red would also be lovely)
lemon juice
olive oil (I prefer extra virgin myself, but any olive oil will probably do)
salt
pepper
The method:
Pack your garlic, onion and green stuff into your food processor.
Whizz it up until everything is pretty well minced. Stop the food processor.
Splash in lemon juice to just cover the goo. Whizz that until it’s pretty well blended.
With the motor running, stream in olive oil to desired consistency/color/until it feels like enough. Like most vinaigrettes/emulsions that I make, it always takes more oil than I think it will.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Oh, and I will say, if you haven’t got a food processor, that’s okay. It’s a little more work, but you can definitely just finely mince/chop everything with a knife, and whisk it all together. You won’t get as thorough of an emulsion (it’ll separate a bit) but that’s fine. It’ll still be amazing.
And that’s it! Enjoy your green goo! =)
Vickie's Food Ramblings 