So believe it or not, other than ingredients such as pig’s feet or chicken feet, there are many other BASIC ingredients I’ve never used. Take for instance, Parsley. To me, parsley was always the garnish on meals you don’t eat. So it never come to my mind to actually buy it and eat it.
There are two types of parsley usually found in markets. Parsley (or Curly Leaf Parsley) and Italian Parsley (or Flat Leaf Parsley). Flat Leaf Parsley is the one you use for cooking.
Although today was not meant to be a cooking day, I decided to do another new ingredient cooking by making a Chimichurri sauce. For those who aren’t familiar with Chimichurri, it is a sauce originating from Argentina. It is usually an accompaniment for grilled meat, or also known as Asado. Chimichurri is tangy, acidic, and can be a little spicy. It is a great sauce to have with steak as the Chimichurri helps cut the fat of the meat. It does not overpower the meat like the steak sauces found in the US. Chimichurri usually consists of white vinegar, parsley, oregano, garlic and oil (olive oil or vegetable oil). There are endless variations to the sauce and can be found in many restaurants in LA. A lot of New Californian restaurants that serve a grilled meat has one dish that includes Chimichurri or Mint Chutney (which may be another sauce I may attempt at a later time). Chimichurri can also be used as a nice salad dressing since it already has herbs, salt, oil, and vinegar.
The greatest thing about Chimichurri is that it is quick and easy to make. All you need is a blender to make the sauce. All you need to do is dice or mince the ingredients and throw it in the blender or food processor.
I have made a variation of a recipe I have found on Chowhound and got ideas from the A.O.C. Cookbook. I used Serrano chili instead of a Jalapeño mentioned in the A.O.C. because of the heat profile I wanted in the sauce. And instead of using white vinegar or red wine vinegar, I used plum vinegar (found in Korean markets). I find plum goes really well with beef.
I wish I could say how exotic parsley is as an ingredient. However, this exercise was not about cooking exotic food or creating something very unique. It was to understand an ingredient that I’ve never used and building a confidence with ingredients. I may cook the leftover parsley in a pasta and try other simple dishes involving parsley. However, for now, Chimichurri is perfect because the main ingredient is parsley.
Food Lover Chronicles 