Choose your own Adventure ChimiChurri

Fun to say and delicious to eat, chimichurri is a classic South American sauce and marinade. Traditional recipes include parsley, oregano, garlic, chili, and olive oil, but the possibilities for riffing on this basic framework are endless! And if you start with super-fresh herbs from the market and nice olive oil, you can’t go wrong.

Put it on grilled meats, roasted veggies, or swirl into some labne for a quick dip. Fresh herb sauces like these brighten anything you put them on, and turn disparate ingredients into a meal.

Zero Waste Tip: herb stems have so much flavor! If they are tender and in good shape, use them.

Chimichurri Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cup parsley, packed

  • ½ cup cilantro, packed

  • 2 Tbs fresh oregano (sub 1 tsp dried)

  • 2 garlic gloves or 2 stalks of green garlic

  • 1 shallot or ¼ of a red onion

  • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

  • ½ cup red wine vinegar

  • ½ - 1 ½ tsp chili flake (or if fresh chilis are in season, 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper is nice)

  • 1 tsp fine salt

Method 1: by hand

  1. Finely chop herbs, mince garlic and shallot.

  2. In a mixing bowl, combine herbs, garlic, and shallot with the vinegar, oil, chili flake, and salt.

  3. Allow the mixture to rest for 20 minutes. The vinegar will temper the sharpness of the alliums and the flavors will become cohesive. Taste the sauce again after resting and adjust salt and chili flake as needed.

Method 2: food processor

  1. Start by breaking down the shallot and garlic - a rough chop is fine. Add those to the bowl of a food processor and add red wine vinegar and salt to a food processor. Pulse, stopping and scraping down sides as needed. You’re looking for a fine mince.

  2. Add in the herbs and chili flake. Then pour in olive oil while pulsing until herbs are finely minced. If it starts looking like a puree, you’ve gone too far! There should be some texture still.

  3. Allow the mixture to rest for 20 minutes. The vinegar will temper the sharpness of the alliums and the flavors will become cohesive. Taste the sauce again after resting and adjust salt and chili flake as needed.