Small Bowl Chimichurri
(click to enlarge)

Chimichurri


Argentina / Uruguay   -   Chimichurri
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 1-3/4 cups
**
30 min
Yes		 This is the essential condiment for serving with grilled meats in Argentina, and without grilled meats, can there even be an Argentina? It's also used with poultry and fish.

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1/2
1
2
3
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1
1/2
1/4
1
1/2
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c
T
oz
cl
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t
c
c
t
t
-- Herbs
Parsley, flat (1)
Oregano, fresh (2)
Red Chili, fresh (3)  
Garlic
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Aji Molido (4)
Olive Oil, ExtV
Wine Vinegar, red
Salt
Pepper, black
 

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

Make   -   (30 min - all hand chopped)
  1. Chop PARSLEY and OREGANO fine. Measure is after chopping. Mix.
  2. Cap RED CHILIS, slice in half lengthwise and remove seed mass and membranes. Dice very small. Mix with Parsley.
  3. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Mix with Parsley.
  4. Mix All Items together, and give it little rest so the flavors can meld. This Chimichurri can be refrigerated in a sealed jar at least overnight.
  5. Serve at room temperature for slathering on Grilled meats, chicken or fish. It'll work with fried potatoes too.
NOTES:

  1. Parsley:

      This must be flat leaf parsley, curly parsley is natures imitation of a plastic garnish. Some recent recipes also include some Cilantro, but most traditional recipes do not.

  2. Oregano:

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

  3. Red Chili:

      They don't have Red Chilis in Argentina, but I have a very authentic traditional recipe from neighboring Uruguay, where Chimichurri is just as popular. That one gets its hotness from fresh Red Chilis. I like the idea of Red Chilis in the mix, but my hotness comes from Argentine Aji Molido, so I remove seeds and membranes from Red Fresno chilis to remove all the heat. If you don't have Fresnos, you can use 1/2 of a Red Anaheim.

  4. Aji Molido: / Aji Triturado

      This is the chili flake of Argentina. It is fairly mild, based on Mirisol chilis (dried Aji Amarillo) but with other chilis usually included. Some Chimichurri recipes call for Spanish Smoked Paprika as a substitute, but they'd need a little hot chili powder too. 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 and without bruising the herbs.

  6. Comments:

      Chimichurri recipes vary a lot - not so much in ingredients where they mostly agree, but in the proportions The most extreme recipe I have is from a Spanish language Argentine cookbook written in Argentina. That one wants 1/4 cup Oil, 1 whole cup Red Wine Vinegar, and 1 Tablespoon of Parsley. Others want a lot more Oil and half the Vinegar I call for here. Amount of Parsley varies widely.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
ajv_chimi1 210228 various sources, books and inet   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@aaxnet.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page is permitted.