Until recently, I had the assumption that Chimichurri sauce was a South American all-purpose green ketchup, loved by everyone and served with everything, especially grilled beef.
What’s more, there isn’t a single definitive way to make it or serve this homemade BBQ sauce recipe – just vague do’s and don’ts.
Nor is it served everywhere, with everything – Americans don’t have BBQ sauce with everything, and Brits don’t have gravy with everything – though both are perfect for certain dishes.
It clearly has roots in Mediterranean cuisine, but Green Chimichurri is as Argentinean as Pesto is Italian – they aren’t two alike.
It’s meant to be oily, salty, slightly acidic, a mild kick of black pepper and other things, with a herby undercurrent to the whole taste.
This is a version of green chimichurri and reminds me of Persillade from Spain. Red chimichurri, on the other hand, is somewhat like salsa.
When to Use It
Use this Homemade BBQ sauce on any grilled or barbecued meat; in Argentina, this is likely to be their awesome grass-fed beef, wonderful sausages, or offal of some description.
My Green Chimichurri Recipe
This is the version I’ve made most frequently in the past.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil.
- 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar (I have used red wine vinegar before now)
- 1/4 cup water
- 8 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 2 cups of fresh flat-leafed parsley
- 2 tbsp fresh oregano
- a small onion, peeled
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp rock salt
- a pinch or two of chili powder. (NB this isn’t supposed to be hot!)
Method
- Put everything except the olive oil in a food processor, and mince it all up.
- Scoop the sauce into a bowl and stir in the olive oil.
- Serve immediately, or make it a few hours in advance if you want to.
Red Chimichurri Sauce
When I read about it I wanted to make my own red chimichurri but when I researched it I found this version at Asado Argentina which didn’t seem to need anything adding to it.