Sauce: Short Cilantro Chimichurri

We have central air again! Only in time for another hot and humid 90°+ weekend. Both of our girls had a softball tournaments and we baked in the hot sun for part of Saturday and most of Sunday. As you can imagine, coming home to a cool house was greatly appreciated.

While our air was out, as most of you know (or familiar to my complaining) on the truly hot days, we grilled. A lot. Anything to keep the house from getting hotter. Because chimichurri sauce takes minutes and is a no-cook type of sauce, it was reliable for our situation. One evening I switched up my old-style chimichurri sauce by adding in fresh cilantro and green onion and OH MY LORD was it satisfying.

Not only is chimichurri flavor-packed on grilled meats and vegetables, but it also dubs as a marinade too. More on that soon, in the meantime let’s make cilantro chimichurri sauce!

What Is Chimichurri?

Chimichurri sauce is a non-cooked condiment sauce thats made for topping grilled meat. Whether it’s skirt steak, hamburgers or grilled chicken and seafood it’s a sauce made up of fresh herbs that’s extremely savory and completely flavor-packed.

TO Make Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce Set out:

• cilantro leaves
• parsley
• oregano
• garlic
• green onions
• kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper
• red pepper flakes
• red wine vinegar
• olive oil

A mini food processor is great for chopping up all the garlic and herbs.

First, start by adding 3/4 cup of cilantro leaves and 1/4 cup parsley leaves with 2 tablespoons fresh oregano (about 4 short stems), 2 to 4 cloves of garlic, depending on their sized, into your food processor. Next, secure the lid and pulse until coarsely chopped. Then add in the sliced onion and pulse until finely chopped.

Next, add the chopped herbs and garlic into a bowl. Then measure and add in a few pinches kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes.

And then pour in 1/2 cup of olive oil and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar.

Stir to combine all of these ingredients and you’re good to go! This method makes roughly 1-1/4 cups.

Now because this cilantro chimichurri sauce is made with fresh herbs and garlic, it’s a good idea to keep it refrigerated. Try to use this within a few days or 1 week tops. I have a especially simple recipe coming your way where I feature this vibrant green sauce! But in the meantime, if you’re looking for satisfying ways in which to try this sauce try either on burgers or in fajitas!

Enjoy! And if you give this Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!