How to prepare the best homemade Argentinian chimichurri

The famous Argentinian sauce, always present in a good barbecue or “asado” to accompany both meat and a “choripán” (sausage sandwich). Follow these tips to prepare a quality homemade chimichurri very easily, as if you were a true Argentinian from the Pampas!

Start by mixing the dry ingredients (ground chili pepper, oregano, salt and pepper) in a container. Hydrate them by adding water little by little, until getting a paste that is not very dry.

Chop the garlic and parsley very finely, add them to the previous paste and mix everything until integrated. Add the oil and vinegar in the indicated proportions, so that the ingredients are completely covered.

Keep in a glass container in the fridge, always taking care that there are no traces of sauce on the edges, they must always be covered by the vinaigrette.

Tips and tricks:

1. The only difficulty in making an authentic chimichurri is finding Argentinian ground chili, a common ingredient in supermarkets of that country, but difficult to replace in other latitudes. Ground chili looks similar in appearance to Italian pepperoncino or Turkish pul biber, but unlike these, its main characteristic is that it is not hot. A good chimichurri should not be spicy, therefore, these two alternatives are not advisable as a substitute. In that case, it’s preferable to very finely chop a little red bell pepper.
2. It’s possible to use dried garlic and parsley, if we do not have those fresh ingredients. The final result might taste with less freshness on the palate, but in exchange for this, it will keep longer in the fridge. In this case, remember also to hydrate these two ingredients at the beginning together with the other dried ones.
3. The original recipe does not call for onion, but feel free to add a little spring onion. But then some purists may complain, arguing that this variant would be a mix between chimichurri and salsa criolla, another typical accompaniment to Argentine barbecues.
4. Originally a neutral oil (usually sunflower) is used, but whoever follows me regularly will know that I use extra virgin olive oil almost without exception.
5. Any type of vinegar can be used, although in this case, I have a preference for the apple vinegar flavor.
6. It’s important to keep the chimichurri in a glass jar and never in plastic, due to the abrasive nature of the vinegar. By the way, this advice applies also to any pickle.
7. It’s also essential to ensure that all the ingredients are covered by the vinaigrette, taking care that there is no trace of chimichurri on the edges of the jar. This is the way to keep the sauce longer time: the oil protects from the formation of fungus, while the vinegar and salt prevent the proliferation of bacteria.