An abundance of fresh herbs this time of year lend themselves to this delicious, fresh herb-ilicious sauce that originated in South America - Argentina to be exact.
A traditional sauce for grilled steak, Chimichurri sauce is also delicious on fish, chicken, pork, lamb (I go a bit heavier on the mint when I'm serving the sauce with lamb), mixed into rice or pasta - and it's even super yummy on scrambled or fried eggs!
I generally don't measure anything when I make my Chimichurri sauce. I just trim and snip my herb plants as needed (remember to never remove more than 1/3 of the plant at one time), then chop up all the leaves and add a few other ingredients.
You can use a food processor to make your sauce, but I prefer hand chopping.
I actually find chopping to be oddly therapeutic and relaxing, but more importantly, I find it easier to control the size of your chop when you're doing it manually.
You definitely want this sauce to be chunky, not paste-like. It's not a pesto!
Then I finish the sauce with a drizzle of wine vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil over the whole thing until I have a nice, chunky, pourable consistency.
But if you're somebody who needs exact measurements...
Scroll down to the very bottom for the printable recipe card!
Fresh Herb Chimichurri Sauce
Serve immediately by pouring over grilled or roasted meats, or serving on the side of your meat dish.
If not using immediately, you can refrigerate your Chimichurri sauce for a day or two in a covered glass jar. Bring to room temperature and shake in the jar to re-mix the ingredients before serving.
Ready, Set, Chop! Okay, ready to make some Chimichurri sauce? First let's pick some nice fresh herbs.
It's best to harvest herbs in the early morning after the dew has dried from the leaves.
Now remove any stems and brush any dirt off the leaves, then get chopping!
First chop all the herbs and put them in the bowl.
Then mince or finely dice the red onion and garlic.
Add your red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper to the bowl. I love how it already looks like a party in the bowl!
Whisk to combine everything...
Then add your liquids, whisking as you pour.
I like to let my sauce sit for a few hours to let the flavors combine...you'll be amazed at how it really adds a pop of flavor to otherwise mild meats like pork chops, chicken or white fish.
And anything we don't eat that first night, goes in the fridge. Look how pretty and fresh it looks!
