Chimichurri is definitely not a traditional South African sauce, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a big favourite in our house when it comes to preparing steak on the fire.

It is actually an authentic sauce from Uruguay and Argentina that is not only delicious on any barbecued or grilled meat, but works great as a dressing on salads.

Put it on the table:

During our recent weekend away at The Shire (post coming soon), we prepared the chimichurri sauce at home the evening before we left and then stored it in the fridge until we could enjoy it with our steak a day later.

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar/brown vinegar

½ cup parsley, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (or minced)

1 tablespoon dried crushed chillies (or 1 small red chillie, deseeded and finely chopped)

¾ teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Chopped parsley and garlic

The biggest hassle with this recipe is chopping the parsley and garlic. All you have to do then, is mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. It is ideal to let it sit for longer than two hours before using it. This is an uncooked sauce that is sure to impress your guests with its bright green colour and loaded with fresh herbs and garlic.

Chopped, mixed and ready

We were lucky to have a lovely summer evening (in the middle of autumn) at The Shire – ideal for preparing our steak outside on the fire.

Sunset at The Shire

After Berto grilled the steak to perfection (medium), we drizzled the homemade chimichurri sauce over the meat and enjoyed a delicious meal.

Steak with chimichurri sauce

The taste of herbs, garlic and a tad bit spicy make this a sauce you will want to make again.

Homemade chimichurri sauce