Chimichurri

Argentine garlic and parsley sauce: the condiment that defines the asado

Origin: Argentina / Uruguay

From the journey of Garlic.

Chimichurri is Argentina and Uruguay's great sauce: a raw, uncooked condiment of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, garlic, dried oregano, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and chilli flakes, served alongside grilled meats at the asado (Argentine barbecue) with an almost liturgical insistence. Every Argentine family has their own version. Proportions are fiercely debated. The ratio of vinegar to oil, the coarseness of the chop, the quantity of garlic, whether to add bay leaf or cumin, how long to rest it; these are not trivial questions but matters of inherited identity and regional pride. Chimichurri occupies the same foundational cultural position in the River Plate countries as sofrito in Spain, mirepoix in France, or recado negro in the Yucatán: a preparation whose correct form is deeply felt. Garlic is the irreplaceable backbone of chimichurri. Remove the garlic and you have merely an herb vinaigrette. It is the garlic, raw, pungent, slowly mellowed by the vinegar and oil during the resting period, that gives chimichurri its assertive, savouriness and its ability to cut through the fat of an Argentine asado, which typically involves an extravagance of beef ribs, short ribs, chorizo, and offal cooked over glowing quebracho wood coals for three or four hours. The sauce must be strong enough to stand up to that landscape of meat, and garlic is what gives it that strength. The etymology of 'chimichurri' is one of South America's great culinary debates. The most often-cited theory attributes it to an Anglicisation or Basque-ification of 'Jimmy McCurry': a supposed Irish or English meatpacker or ranch cook who worked in the Pampas during the 19th century and mixed an herb sauce for the British and Irish labourers he cooked for. Others trace the name to the Basque word 'tximitxurri', meaning a loose mixture of several things. A third theory links it to a Quechua-derived term. No theory has been definitively proved. What is certain is that chimichurri evolved in the Pampas grasslands of 19th-century Argentina, in a landscape of extraordinary beef and a population of European immigrants; principally from Italy, Spain, the Basque Country, and Ireland; who brought their garlic-and-herb saucing traditions to a new continent. The meeting of the finest grass-fed beef in the world with Mediterranean and Basque herb traditions produced something entirely new. The two principal forms are chimichurri verde (green) and chimichurri rojo (red). The verde is the classic: parsley-dominant, sharp from the vinegar, and deeply herbal. The rojo adds finely chopped roasted red peppers and sometimes fresh tomato to the verde base, producing a sauce that is sweeter, earthier, and visually more vivid. Both versions share the same critical requirement: they must rest. A chimichurri made and used immediately tastes raw and harsh; the vinegar is sharp, the garlic is aggressive, the oregano is dusty. After 30 minutes of resting at room temperature, the flavours begin to integrate. After two hours, the sauce mellows and deepens. After overnight refrigeration, it becomes its best self: cohesive, balanced, fragrant, with the garlic having given its full flavour to the oil without any remaining rawness.

Ingredients

Chimichurri Verde

  • 60 g flat-leaf parsley, leaves and fine tender stems, a large bunch, tightly packed
  • 4 garlic cloves, very finely minced or pounded in a mortar to a rough paste
  • 1.5 tsp dried oregano (rub between your fingers as you add it to release the oils)
  • 0.5 tsp dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes), more or less to taste
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 0.5 tsp coarse salt (sea salt or kosher salt)
  • 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Chimichurri Rojo Additions (optional)

  • 2 tbsp finely chopped roasted red pepper (jarred or freshly roasted and peeled), for chimichurri rojo
  • 1 small ripe tomato, very finely diced and drained of excess juice, for chimichurri rojo

Method

  1. Wash and thoroughly dry the parsley. Moisture is the enemy of a well-textured chimichurri; any water on the parsley will dilute the vinegar balance and make the sauce watery. Shake well in a colander and then spread on a clean kitchen towel to dry for a few minutes if needed.
  2. Finely chop the dried parsley leaves and stems with a sharp chef's knife. The chop should be fine but not minced to dust; aim for pieces roughly 2–3mm. Transfer to a bowl.
  3. Peel the garlic cloves and mince them as finely as possible with your knife, or pound them in a mortar with a pinch of salt until you have a rough, still-slightly-chunky paste. Add to the parsley. Finely minced garlic will mellow more completely into the oil during resting; coarsely chopped garlic will give stronger, more pungent bursts of flavour in the finished sauce. Both are legitimate; choose according to your preference.
  4. Add the dried oregano, crumbling it between your fingers as you add it to the bowl to help release the volatile oils. Add the chilli flakes, coarse salt, and black pepper.
  5. Add the red wine vinegar first and stir to combine. Then add the olive oil in a thin stream, stirring as you go, until everything is combined and the oil has loosely emulsified with the vinegar. The sauce should be a loose, spoonable consistency; not thick, not watery.
  6. Taste the chimichurri now; it will be harsh, sharp, and aggressively raw at this stage. This is expected and correct. Cover the bowl and leave to rest at room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes. For best results, refrigerate overnight. The resting time is not optional; it is the final cooking step. The vinegar slowly mellows the raw garlic, the oil absorbs the herbal flavours from the parsley and oregano, and the salt draws out moisture from the herbs, integrating everything into a cohesive sauce.
  7. For chimichurri rojo: after the verde has rested for at least 30 minutes, stir in the finely chopped roasted red pepper and diced fresh tomato. The rojo version should be used the same day as the tomato will release water and the sauce will become loose overnight.
  8. Serve at room temperature; never cold from the refrigerator. If the sauce has been refrigerated, remove it 30 minutes before serving. The olive oil will have solidified slightly in the fridge; stir well and allow it to return to room temperature before using. Spoon generously over grilled beef, chicken, sausage, or use as a bread dip.

Notes

The verde and rojo forms of chimichurri are equally legitimate and complementary; serve both at an asado and guests will use them in combination. The verde cuts through fat with its sharp acidity; the rojo is sweeter and earthier and works particularly well alongside chicken and pork. Leftover chimichurri verde keeps in the refrigerator for up to one week; the rojo, containing fresh tomato, is best used within 48 hours. Do not freeze chimichurri; the parsley will turn black and the texture will break down irreparably. A third variation worth knowing is chimichurri with fresh chilli (aji chimichurri) in place of dried flakes, which is popular in parts of Uruguay and gives a brighter, greener heat.

The Gastrographer

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