The Best Kept Secret I Discovered in 2020
This year has been full of ups and downs, twists and turns, and a lot of not so fun surprises. One of the better surprises for me? CHIMICHURRI SAUCE. To those of you very cultured readers, this may come as a shock that I had never tried it and hadn’t really heard of it. Growing up in a small town with very little diversity, we did a lot of Olive Garden and Red Robin. Not a lot of culture there. It wasn’t until last month that I finally discovered this mouth watering sauce. After a few weeks of heavy eating due to COVID hitting and needing the comfort food, we decided to go with something lighter with our steak. Instead of pounding some mashed potatoes with or steak, (the ultimate comfort food) we decided to start making steak salads. Having spent a semester abroad in Argentina, my husband was quick to suggest chimichurri sauce to add flavor to our lighter steak salad. The rest is history.
Diving into this slower pace of life with having to stay at home has made cooking so much more fun. Having time to play around with recipes has made dinner time a creative outlet, instead of a chore like it used to feel like. So, being tasked with making the chimichurri sauce felt like a fun creative challenge. To be honest, it really is not much of a challenge, just INCREDIBLY TASTY. If you’re looking for a tasty summer steak salad, here’s what we have been loving.
For the Salad
Any mixed green salad
Diced red onions
Manzanilla Green Olives - chopped in half
Kalamata Olives - chopped in half
Garbanzo Beans
Cherry Tomatoes - chopped in half
Blue Cheese Crumble (optional)
Alice Water’s Garlic Vinaigrette
1 small garlic clove
Pinch of Salt
2 tbs. red wine vinegar
Freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Start by muddling garlic clove and salt together until garlic is smooth. Salt helps break it down so make sure to add it
Add 2 tbs. of red wine vinegar and pepper to taste.
Let sit for 3 minutes, then add olive oil and whisk to combine
I will probably never use store-bought dressing again! After learning how easy it is to make at home and how incredible delicious some recipes are that I found, I am forever changed. Alice Water’s garlic vinaigrette was first a discovery made through a friend’s salad. The dressing was too good not to ask where it was from. They had just signed up for Master Class and found her recipe there. The recipe for the vinaigrette is hidden in middle of a different video so I actually found it on this NY Mag recipe here. The PERFECT dressing for all salads, especially this one. Pro-Tip* Actually massage the dressing into the salad and you won’t need a ton.
For Chimichurri Sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley OR 4 teaspoons of dried parsley
3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar (Also used in the salad dressing)
4 minced garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of oregano leaves OR 2 teaspoons of dried oregano
2 tablespoons of crushed red pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
To make the sauce, mix everything EXCEPT the olive oil in the food processor. If you’re using dried herbs this makes it especially easy to mix without a food processor. Once all ingredients are mixed together and smooth, salt and pepper to taste, transfer to a bowl and then pour the olive oil over the mixture, allowing to rest for 20-30 minutes.
Assemble the salad by mixing all salad ingredients together and adding the grilled steak on top. We slice into thin slices and usually use Rib Eye. We usually just share one steak instead of buying two, to help cut costs and less red meat.
Spread that DELICIOUS chimichurri sauce on top of the steak and get ready for a party in your mouth! The garlic vinaigrette flavors the salad just perfectly. Added to the chimichurri flavored steak and the flavor profile is unreal. If you want to spread the chimichurri experience out even further, try spreading some on a toasted piece of sourdough bread with your salad. SO DELICIOUS!!