Pure olive oil is a key ingredient to a chimichurri sauce. I use castelvetrano olives instead and crush them along with the parsley, oregano and garlic. I
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Servings: 4
Author: Snap Pea Sheep
Equipment
Mortar and pestle or something to crush herbs with
Ingredients
1/2CupCastelvetrano pitted olivesAny green olive works
1TbspRed wine vinegarMay use apple cider, champagne or umeboshi plum vinegars
1TbspLemon juice
1/2CupFresh parsley- choppedYield after chopping
1/3CupFresh oregano - choppedYield after chopping
2-4ClovesFresh garlic - chopped
1-2Small red chiliesThis is more for color than heat. Use peppadews, bell, fresno or red habanero.
1TspHimalayan salt crystals
1/2TspCoarse ground pepper
Instructions
Remove leaves from stems then finely chop the herbs.
Mince garlic and add to herbs. Use 1/2 and add more if desired after tasting.
Remove stem, seeds and membrane from peppers. Chop fine using only 1/2 specified. Add more if desired.
Use a grinder to grind Himalayan salt crystals if available. Otherwise just use regular ground Himalayan salt.
Generally chimichurri is made with vinegar but no lemon. I divide the vinegar in half and use lemon juice for a little added brightness.
Finally chop and crush the olives. It is best to do this in the mortar pestle to preserve the natural oils.
Move remaining ingredients to a mortar pestle and crush the ingredients together.
Taste and add more garlic or peppers as desired.
Allow to marinate at least 15 minutes. Two hours to 24 hours is best for flavor.
Notes
This is a SnapPea Sheep recipe - but frankly this is a very classic recipe. You can find this recipe or variation just about anywhere.Some variations are to add other herbs like mint, dill, cilantro. Dill, parsley and mint do together surprisingly well. So does mint and oregano! I add the herb combinations to different salads. A gremolata is a different take on a chimichurri. It is parsley, lemon zest and garlic. Preserved lemons or lime take herbs to a new level. Check out my simple recipe for them here.