Argentineans love to eat “asados” o “parrilladas” (barbecues) and unlike Americans, Argentinean asados are done on a parrilla (grill) and include meats like chorizo, sweetbread (molleja), chitterlings, morcilla (blood sausage) and some regional meat cuts. The barbecue is almost always served with chimichurri, which is a popular sauce used also in many Latin American countries. Brazilians have their own version of the chimichurri sauce called vinagrete and it´s usually made with chopped up tomatoes, onions, parsley, olive oil, vinegar and salt.
Making chimichurri is not difficult at all and here´s the recipe:
Ingredients:
1cup lightly packed and chopped flat-leaf parsley
4x cloves of garlic, minced
1tsp salt
1/2tsp freshly ground peppercorns
1/2tsp chili, pepper, flakes
2tbl fresh oregano, leaves, chopped
2tbl shallot, minced
3/4cup olive oil
sherry vinegar
3tbl lemon, juice
Method: Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until well chopped, but not pureed. And it´s ready to be spooned over grilled meat or chicken.
Here´s some useful vocabulary:
Aceite de oliva – olive oil
Cebolla picada en trocitos chiquititos – really chopped up onion
Cucharadita – a little spoonful
Ajo – garlic
Perejil – parsley
Granos de pimienta – peppercorns
Shallots – chalotas
Enjoy your asado con chimichurri!
