You may laugh when I tell you this, but I have always wanted to be an Argentine Cowboy.
I first read about gauchos, the traditional cowboys of Argentina, 
in the pages of National Geographic magazine when I was about nine or ten and I knew I’d make a great one. I’d roam the pampas, ride horses, herd cattle, and look dashing while doing so—wearing a wide brimmed hat, kerchief around the neck, and a woven poncho for when it got cold. Some kids want to run off and join the circus; I wanted to run off to Argentina and herd cattle.
Had I known that gauchos get to eat chimichurri sauce, I would have wanted to be one even more.
Chimichurri sauce could be considered the pesto of South America, but it’s the jazzed up Latin version with a bit more sass. Made of parsley, garlic, and olive oil, with either lemon or vinegar for a bit of a kick, it’s often served as a condiment to the steaks that a gaucho would certainly be eating. The piquant flavor of the sauce cuts the richness of the meat and makes for a combination that I find addictive. I may be a reluctant meat-eater (former vegetarian and all) but I’d be willing to eat steak and chimichurri sauce every night of the week.
See, wouldn’t I make a great gaucho? Not to mention, I look pretty smashing in a hat.
I love chimichurri sauce so much that I’ve been known to say that I would be willing to eat anything, if only it were doused in chimichurri sauce. Anything!
This occurred to me the other night, when I came home exhausted and hungry. I may not be roping cattle these days, but chasing after a two-year-old can wear a person out as well. I don’t ride horses, but I do give piggyback rides, and a day of herding my little niece Alice is tiring in its own way. I wanted food and I wanted it fast. What would a hungry cowboy eat after a long day, when he didn’t have much energy left to build a fire and grill a steak? Were there easy go-to cowboy dishes for lazy nights?
The problem with my “born-again foodieism,” as my friend Rosie likes to call it, is that I don’t have much prepared, packaged food in my house any longer. I make most things from scratch now, which I enjoy, but on those off nights when you want dinner with a modicum of effort the pickings are slim. It seems the only packaged food I buy these days are crackers and pasta.
Pasta—now that might work—and I had been craving chimichurri sauce. Could I make chimichurri pasta? Why not?
Normally I would pull out the Cuisinart to make chimichurri, but not this time. I was going for authenticity and couldn’t imagine a gaucho whipping a food processor out of his saddlebag there amidst the pampas. But gauchos do carry knives—called facón—which are tucked into the back of their waistband. I don’t have a facón but I do have a Wusthof, a recent present from my brother. I whipped out my knife (from the cutlery drawer, not my waistband) and I got to work.
I smashed the garlic, threw some kosher salt in there, and smeared it into a paste using the side of the knife blade. Chopping equal parts of parsley and cilantro until they resembled a rough and rustic sauce, I added olive oil and white vinegar as I went and finished it off with a pinch of crushed red pepper. It began to look intensely green, and to smell delicious—a spritely and tangy scent. Do you know how delightful the smell of freshly cut grass is? This is sort of like that, but garlicy and—most importantly—edible. It kind of looks like mown grass as well.
I can hardly describe the taste of this sauce—the piquant hit of the garlic and vinegar, the fresh herby green flavor of the parsley and cilantro, like spring, and the slight heat from the red pepper flakes. It’s a flavor I would ride for hours to get a taste of—on horseback, over rough terrain. Even after a long day of herding cattle (or two-year-olds), a spoonful of chimichurri sauce perks me right up. Dolloped into a bowl of warm pasta, it was blissful.
And eaten quickly (one hungry cowboy over here).
Until there was no more (and I did a scarpetta* of the bowl, as soon as the picture-taking was done).
Of course, you can make chimichurri sauce in a blender or food processor—that’s how the recipe is written. It makes for a smoother, more cohesive sauce. But I may have been converted to hand chopping my sauce in the future, at least for small batches. All that chopping probably builds muscles—and you never know when I might have to run off to Argentina to herd cattle. If I get to eat chimichurri every day, that’s just one more reason to head for the pampas.
CHIMICHURRI SAUCE
I’ve seen a number of chimichurri sauce recipes that call for only parsley, or parsley and oregano, so this may not be the most authentic version around (which should delight those cilantro haters out there, just use all parsley). What it is, however, is delicious. It’s so good that when I went to visit a friend and her new baby in the hospital recently, her mother took one look at me and said, “You’re the girl who gave Carrie the chimichurri recipe—thank you so much!” Apparently this sauce has been spicing up Smith family barbeques in both California and Massachusetts, and I am now known as “the chimichurri girl” on two coasts.
If you’d like to serve this with flank steak, as would be more traditional, follow the instructions on how to spice and cook the steak as described here. But chimichurri sauce is good on just about anything—grilled or steamed vegetables, tofu, fish.
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
extra olive oil for pasta
Put herbs, spices, and garlic in the food processor and pulse until chopped. With motor running, drizzle in first the olive oil, then the vinegar until smooth and emulsified.
Alternately, chop all ingredients on a cutting board, mixing in the liquid at the
end.
If serving as a pasta sauce, toss your pasta in olive oil before adding the sauce.
* fare la scarpetta is an Italian term that refers of taking a bit of bread and using it to mop up every last drop of sauce from your plate or bowl. It’s not considered polite dining practice, but when something is so good it’s hard to resist.
Gaucho image used courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.
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What a great combination! It looks amazing, I really want to try it.
chim-chim-churri! what a great way to use this sauce.
Oh Tea this is such a delight to read when I’m wearing down playing catch up with my blog reading! It was such fun. I’ll have to try this with my Wusthof (they are wonderful knives). I think serving this with the pasta was brilliant!
This looks amazing, I can almost smell the freshness from the photo!! I will certainly be making some for a BBQ I’m attending this weekend, I bet it will be amazing with steak, thanks!! (I can’t say thanks for the link to ‘Gaucho’s’ though, as wikipedia link following (is there a proper term for that?) has just led to my spending almost an hour reading about the career of Ashton Kutcher…. thanks a lot!!)
scarpetta! We do that all the time — an old friend told us that the word comes from the idea of making little shoes with the bread
I loved that empty bowl photo on flickr; now I love it even more!
I never thought of using it this way. Thanks for the idea and recipe!
I love this type of sauce. And you are right it is great on anything!
I use to know a guy in Arizona who made custom gun holsters. I always thought it would be so cool to have a holster made for my knives! Even the gauchos would be jealous.
That looks absolutely delicious! I’m going to the market today and I’ll be buying the ingredients to make this!
Hi there! I’m a new reader (about a month or so). This dish looks so beautiful. I recently made a sauce similar — it incorporated raw kale, avacado, sesame seeds, pink salt and lime — it was amazing! Tart and creamy but still amazing texture.
Tea,
I’ve made this sauce once to serve with beef and it’s really delicious!
I love the idea of adding it to pasta!
ahahh this is funny. I have to imagine you as an Argentine Cowboy. Gorgeous pictures Tea. They make me want to dip my finger in the sauce an lick!
My bowl! My orange Pottery Barn bowl!
Filled with cowgirl deliciousness. Gonna take you to Boca in Novato next time you’re down this way.
Tea, wow, that looks delicious and made so fast and easily! I’ll try that next time I drag in the door after a long, long day at work!
Thanks for sharing this! We’re making it tonight with herbs from the farmer’s market and zucchini fritte using zucchini from our garden.
Well, I never fancied myself a gaucho, but I do have an abundance of flat-leaf parsley in my garden at the moment. I wonder if this sauce would freeze, like pesto?
Of course there would be an empty bowl!!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and this delicious recipe!! I’ll look forweard to many more posts!!!!
Kelly–thanks, it really is pretty yummy, if I do say so myself. Hope you like it.
Kat–ha! That reminds me of the Merry Poppins song (chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee!).
Tanna–I love my Wusthof, can’t believe I lived for so long with bad knives! Never again:-)
Jen–ha, ha! I think we need a term for getting sucked into black holes on the internet (I spent far too much time this week reading Pioneer Woman’s blog, which I just discovered–great, but um, I’d like those three hours back, please). Hope you enjoy the sauce!
Paula–my pleasure–it was a happy experiment that turned out well.
Anita–it’s the sign of a good dish, no? When you want to scrape up every last bit of it.
Sage Cat–they would be jealous indeed! A custom knife holster, I know a few people who would definitely want one of those (Biggles!).
Jensquared–excellent! Hope you like it as much as I do!
Amanda–wow, that sounds delicious! I might have to try to recreate your recipe–mmmmm.
Patricia–I really adore it on beef as well, one of those combinations that’s practically perfect I think.
Bea–want to go ride off into the pampas with me? I bet it would be fun:-)
Cookie–yep, we’re dish sisters. Never been to Boca, but I’m up for it.
Zoomie–we all need some of those go-to easy dishes, don’t we?
Kristi–ooh, I hope you like it! (and what very fresh produce you have–lovely).
Lydia–I’ve never tried freezing it myself, I do know that the color will dull with time (I always make it just before I’m planning on using it), but I imagine it would be okay to freeze, perhaps add some extra oil. I’d do a trial batch first, just to make sure. Please let me know how it turns out if you do.
Valli–yep, that bowl got empty mighty quickly too:-) Thanks for your kind words.
That look so good and healthy, too. Bet it would taste equally good on fresh salmon…or slowly roasted pork…or traditional beef. How about over fresh corn cut off the cob and mixed with chunks of fresh tomato? Getting hungry just thinking of this…great recipe!
I’ve heard so much about this sauce but didn’t realise it would be so vibrant and flavourful. Your photos are stunning!
Elle–wow, your suggestions are making ME hungry! Yes, please.
Truffle–thanks. You know, it really is vibrant and flavorful. I can’t get enough of it!
I wanted to be a wagon train guide.
That’s kind of like a cowboy… Well, not really.
Wow this brings me back. I spent all of 2006 in Argentina, working in Córdoba, and travelling around the country for my job. I saw lots of gauchos, still in the traditional clothing, and ate tons of delicious Argentine beef at traditional asados or bbqs, many of them with chimichurri. Try it on roast cabrito (young goat). OMG delicious….
Lovely, bright and as you say, grassy flavours, Tea – my favourite kind. There is something relaxing about all that hand chopping with the added bonus of a fragrant kitchen.
‘Born-again foodieism’. Very amusing!
hey, Tea
I had to laugh at your romantic notions of gauchos. Being an Argentine myself, American cowboys were more alluring when I was a kid… I guess distance does add a romantic quality to most things.
But anyways, back to chimichurri, the most common recipe here is a mix of fresh parsley, garlic, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, oil and vinegar. Cilantro is still definitely something unusual here, and a simple garlic-parsley-olive oil mixture is known as “provenzal”.
Excelsior–a wagon train guide is pretty darn cool too:-)
Lyra–wow, that sounds like an amazing experience (I wish I had been there!). I bet it would be incredible with goat.
Lucy–yes, the kitchen smelled wonderful by the end of it–fresh and spring-like.
Marce–isn’t that funny–I thought American cowboys were sort of dorky. So interesting about the “provenzal.” I assume that’s a take off on a French dish, maybe?
This is an old post by now, but I love the recipe. I don’t really like beef at all, but I’d eat this on anything. I like to make it with lemon juice rather than vinegar. Had it for dinner today over green rice and leftover salmon with parmesan on top. delicious!
I made it the first time because I’m a poor student and was looking for something to replaced pesto, as basil is just too expensive in Chicago. But this may have taken its place in my heart…
Thanks again!
I made this tonight over gluten free rice penne pasta, with shrimp! I used white rice vinegar, a 1/4 of a cup, and a little less than 1/4 of a cup of lemon juice. I processed the herbs and garlic, stirred in the vinegar and spices then formed it flat into the bottom of the bowl and poured the olive oil over the top, letting it set for 1/2 or so. As an afterthought I chopped up a handful of cashews and put them in the top with the oil! It is SO GOOD! And a chelation recipe, too!
We've been looking for a chimichurri recipe for years since we had dinner at the old Gaucho's restaurant in Adelaide. Yours looks great – although I'd have to leave the coriander out – and I seem to remember fresh dill in the mix.
Not sure if you're aware, but it has recently been discovered that those who really don't like coriander are genetically predisposed to hate it – to do with the chemical compounds apparently. And they never get to like it or even get used to the flavour, which remains something akin to soap or old sweaty socks for life. BTW I have only recently found your blog and I love it – keep up the good work on your side of the world.
Jekni–I had heard that about cilantro, and I understand the soapy issue (I taste it a bit, but not enough to annoy me). The recipe should be great with all parsley. Dill would be a lovely addition too. Enjoy your experiments and thanks for the kind words!
I just came across your recipe! What a wonderful idea to have it with pasta!
I had a lot of excess chillies and made my version of Harissa. My brother came back from Argentina and told us about Chimichurri, he said it tasted similar to my chilli paste! We immediately added some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Needless to say, our chilli sauce didn’t last very long! It’s time for another batch! We are going to love having it on pasta though! Thanks for the wonderful idea!
Ok. I read this post and I have to say that I could have almost written it myself! Yes, there are 1 gazillion variations of chimichurri, and I fell in love with it the first time I had it years ago. I searched for a recipe online and over the years have changed a few things (a little more of this, a little less of that, or not that at all) and everyone who has had it falls in love with it as well! I never use a blender or food processor. I really, really believe that it changes the texture and some of the flavor. I always chop by hand, and that’s where the love comes in
Everyone asks for the recipe. I tend to be a little more protective with it and have only shared it with a few of my friends. In my book, if you want it, come and spend time with me first. It’s a fair trade 
I love my chimichurri sauce. You and I share a special understanding and passion for it! I really enjoyed reading this.
Yes, we are chimichurri sisters I believe
Of course, now I want to try your recipe! Sounds so good.
I shall share my recipe with you once I actually write it down. I just use my finger and my taste buds to determine if it’s ready or not!! It’s magical. It really is
Can’t wait to get my hands on it!
I’ll make some soon and write portions down to actual measurements and send it to you to see what you think. Oh… and I’m getting your book. I enjoyed reading your post so much that I shared it with friends who got a chuckle out of it… because they get it
I would be honored to receive your recipe! It sounds wonderful. And I hope you enjoy the book! (or at least get some good laughs out of it:-). Many thanks.