Chimichurri sauce — what’s the deal?! Well, at its core, it’s a classic condiment from Argentina and South America more broadly. There are tons of variations out there, but the base always comes back to parsley and chili pepper (two things we’re big fans of at Le Mouching). And the best part about this sauce? It’s incredibly simple, quick to throw together, and absolutely addictive — a total game-changer.
To make it, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- 2 bunches of flat-leaf parsley, about 1 oz (curly parsley is a hard no — way too overpowering)
- Chives, about ⅓ oz
- 1 garlic clove, about ⅛ oz
- 1 shallot, about ¼ oz
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- 2 turns of freshly ground black pepper
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ⅓ cup sunflower oil (olive oil works too, but in my opinion it tends to drown out the other flavors)
- 3½ tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 fresh chili or, like here, dried chili flakes
- 1 tbsp dried or fresh oregano
Now let’s get into making the sauce. First things first — finely chop the herbs, garlic, and shallot. You can go the authentic route and use a mortar and pestle, but personally I don’t own one, so grab your favorite kitchen knife and get to chopping.
Once that’s done, pour the vinegar into a bowl, add the salt and pepper, and give it a quick stir. Then add everything you just chopped, along with the oregano and chili. Mix it all together.
To finish, add the oil and lemon juice. Give it a good stir and that’s it — your sauce is ready. Best to let it sit in the fridge for a good half hour so all the flavors have time to bloom.
Now as we mentioned, this sauce works great as a marinade, but also as a condiment — slapped on a ribeye or some potatoes, it’s an absolute game-changer. So we decided to use it to build one hell of a sandwich. For that, we cooked a ribeye nice and rare, grabbed some mayo, arugula, parmesan, and of course the star of the show — chimichurri sauce.
Time to build. Slice the bread (we’re using ciabatta here) in half and scoop out some of the crumb — this sandwich is going to be loaded. Spread a layer of mayo on the bottom half, then spoon some chimichurri sauce on top. Slice your ribeye and lay the pieces over the mixture.
For extra indulgence, add another generous spoonful of chimichurri, then finish with some shaved parmesan.
Now top it all off with a handful of arugula and one last hit of chimichurri.
Dig in. Bon appétit.