My Favorite Chimichurri Recipe

Cooking is a lot like driving a car or riding a bicycle. It’s a scary proposition but once you get the hang of it, you gain a whole new level of independence. You forget about the technicalities and the possibilities are endless. Let  be your portal to cooking. It's a place where residents of our community share recipes and cooking tips with you.

A reader asked why I do not appear in the videos I make for this column. The answer to that is simple: the focus is on your recipes and whenever possible, the stories you have to tell us about them.

For most, food generally evokes memories of people, places and experiences. I think it’s important to let people share those stories as they prepare a recipe. It's a terrific way to bond.  

Today, I will make a  minor concession.  I will prepare and narrate a recipe, which is a variation on a green sauce made in Argentina -- chimichurri sauce.  

There is always debate over what a real chimichurri is. Over the years, several people I have met prepare it using different herbs and one version even included watercress leaves and used lemon juice instead of vinegar. I like this version as it closely resembles the one I tried for the first time. Whoever made it hastily scribbled the recipe on a napkin but didn’t write their name down. that's too bad, as I would have liked to find out what other sauces they make. This one is delicious.

The sauce is usually used on red meat but we prefer it on fish.

=================================================================

 What you need:

• ½ cup of olive oil
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves (more or less depending on your preference; I used six here)
• 1 cup parsley
• ½ cup fresh oregano leaves
• 2 teaspoons hot pepper flakes (I would use more but it would be too spicy for the kids)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Dissolve the salt in water.
2. Put the parsley, oregano, hot pepper flakes, garlic cloves and salted water in the blender. Pulse.
3. Most blenders have a small, removable cap at the top.  You will need to remove the cap and pour the olive oil in while you hit “Blend”.  It usually takes less than a minute.
4. Pour this in a bowl and allow it to marinate.  We usually wait a couple of hours before preparing the fish.

Download the movie