Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri in a hurry!
On a recent trip to Temecula Wine Country we came across a winemaker that not only made wine, but also produced Chimichurri Sauce. I must say the Chimichurri was better than the wine and we actually went home with a jar of the sauce in lieu of the wine.
Now I feel the need to make a side comment on Temecula wine. Usually Temecula is not my favorite wine region (that’s putting it mildly), but our last trip there started to change my mind. I think, maybe possibly, that Temecula is finally figuring out this wine thing. We went to three wineries and I was thoroughly impressed with two of them. Like really beautiful wines that showcased the areas climate, terroir, and growing ability.
These surprising wine finds brought me back to about 13 years ago when we were traveling in Beaune France. We stayed at this beautiful Chateaux and the owner, who happened to also be a winemaker, mentioned his trip to Temecula when we told him we were from San Diego. Several winemakers flew him out to ask for his expertise to determine what would grow best, what techniques to use, etc. I remember chuckling at the story and telling him they really don’t know how to make wine. Flash forward to the present and now I’m eating crow (and drinking Temecula wine happily). However, I digress because this isn’t about our wine trip; I’ll dedicate a separate post about our experience in Temecula soon, I promise. So, off we went with our chimichurri sauce happy as larks (what the hell are larks anyway) and continued our wine tasting experience.
A few days after our day trip to Temecula I decided to use the sauce on some salmon I was going to grill and I was amazed! O. M. G. It was one of the most delicious, and simple, ways to prepare salmon. I was hooked and started using the sauce on some part of our meals for the next week.
Unfortunately, my little jar emptied out very quickly, which left me jonseing for more chimichurri with Temecula too far of a drive. What to do, what to do? Well, I’m the wine soaked chef after all and one of my dear friends is Argentinian so I decided I’ll make my own chimichurri sauce after consulting with someone from the source!
In the interest of being transparent I must be honest, my first try at making chimichurri wasn’t successful. I used too much garlic, I mean too, too much garlic, and I didn’t have nearly enough oil. However the good thing about this recipe is that you can add more of the other ingredients to actually get it right and I finally did! Now I have a ton of chimichurri and have been using it almost every other night on something I’m cooking. The hubs and I probably reek of garlic and parsley, but at this point I don’t care. If anyone says anything I’ll just give them a jar of chimichurri and send them happily (hopefully) on their way 😊.
Recipe
Two bunches of parsley (I started with one, but needed to add the second bunch to mellow out the garlic-opps!)
Five cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of dried oregano
2-3 teaspoons of red pepper flakes (adjust for taste and heat sensitivity)
1 to 1.5 cups of olive oil
¼ to ¾ cup of red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Clean the leaves off the parsley stems and place them in food processor. Add garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper and pulse until the mix is coarsely chopped. Add the vinegar and turn on the food processor, slowly add the oil to process. Once all the ingredients are incorporated add the red pepper and pulse just a few times. You don’t want to crush the red pepper just incorporate it into the mixture. Pour the sauce into a jar and store in the refrigerator. Use it on anything, trust me!
Wine to pair?
Well this is a condiment so go with your heart’s desire. Since it is an Argentinian flavor I say open up a Malbec, Argentina’s baby, and say Salud!
