Small Bowl Carrot Top Chimichurri
(click to enlarge)

Carrot Top Chimichurri


California / Argentina   -   Chimichurri
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 1 cup
**
45 min
Yes		 Chimichurri is the essential Argentine condiment for grilled meats, poultry and fish. This version also works well with fried Potatoes, roasted Carrots, and in Sandwiches.

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-- Herbs
Carrot Tops (1)
Cilantro (2)
Oregano, fresh (3)
Garlic
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Cumin seed
Chili Flake (4)
Paprika, smoked
Olive Oil, ExtV
Wine Vinegar, red
Salt
Pepper, black
 

Measures for all Herbs items are moderately packed after they have been chopped fine.

Make   -   (45 min - all hand chopped, see Chopping),
  1. Wash CARROT TOPS and dry reasonably well. A Salad Spinner works well here.
  2. Strip Carrot Top Leaves from the thick central stems. (use them for soup stock) and chop fine. Chop CILANTRO fine. Chop OREGANO fine. Mix all.
  3. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Mix with Herbs.
  4. Mix All Items together. If desired, adjust with more Vinegar or Oil to your taste and preferred consistency.
  5. Give it little rest so the flavors can meld, an hour or so.
  6. Serve at room temperature for slathering on Grilled meats, chicken or fish. It'll also work well with fried Potatoes and roasted Carrots, and is great in sandwiches.
  7. This recipe will keep for 4 days or so in the fridge, and can be frozen to keep longer.
NOTES:

  1. Carrot Tops:

      These should be nice and fresh. Two bunches just yielded a cup. If you are a bit short on Carrot Tops you can fill it out with Flat Leaf Parsley. Parsley is official in Argentina, but it must be flat leaf, curly parsley is natures imitation of a plastic garnish.

  2. Cilantro:

      Traditional Argentine Chimichurri does not use Cilantro, but some more recent recipes do. Here in Southern California we like Cilantro a lot, so I include plenty of it.

  3. Oregano:

      Fresh is strongly preferred, but many recipes do allow dried, about 3/4 teaspoon.

  4. Chili Flake

      Korean flake is good, for not very hot. In Argentina they use Aji Molido / Aji Triturado. It is fairly mild, based on Mirisol chilis (dried Aji Amarillo) but with other chilis often included. For details see our South American Chilis page.

  5. Chopping:

      Modern recipes in English insist on using a Food Processor (or, may the Gods forbid! a Blender). By time a food processor gets stuff chopped evenly it's much too fine. Some recipes say just to pulse the processor a few times. Their photos show a very unevenly chopped Chimichurri. Do chop by hand. I use a Mezzaluna on the herbs, which chops much more quickly than a regular knife, and without bruising the herbs.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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