Friends sometimes apologize to me for being strictly meat and potatoes lovers. No problem. I enjoy cooking both. Offering a flavorful finishing sauce proves key to pleasing everyone. I turn to the brilliance of Argentina's meat and robust condiment culture for inspiration.
Argentina's love of beef shows up in its traditional mixed grill feasts at parrillas (grill restaurants), in matambre arrollada, a stuffed beef roll, and minced fine in some of the best empanadas I've ever tasted.
All of the above are so much the better when doused with chimichurri, Argentina's go-to condiment. The uncooked sauce of herbs, garlic, olive oil and seasonings is this South American country's answer to Mexico's salsa.
In Argentina, chimichurri comes in green and red. In the U.S., green chimichurri, made with lots of fresh parsley, appears on menus more often than red as both marinade and finishing sauce.
When the herb garden is blanketed with snow, I give love to the red version, spiked with dried red chile, because this earthy cousin to the herbaceous green chimichurri tastes stupendous with nearly anything off the grill or out of a hot oven. Richer than Mexican tomato salsa, thanks to a generous dose of olive oil, this easy-to-make condiment keeps for a week or more.
You'll find yourself spooning red chimichurri generously over roasted vegetables, fluffy omelets and all manner of fish. I like it smeared over grilled bread before adding a smear of avocado or spoonfuls of sauteed mushrooms for an interesting toast. Brown some ground beef or turkey, and stir in the red chimichurri to tuck into a taco or top a baked potato. Dollop it onto macaroni and cheese, cooked pasta or use a dunk for grilled cheese sandwiches. You get the idea.
For the red chile in the chimichurri, I use powdered New Mexico chile in lieu of Argentina's aji molido. Smoked paprika is one of the world's great ingredients _ it's great here too. Parsley is more common in the sauce, but I like the bright flavor of cilantro. Use either as they are readily available at most markets year-round.
Beef in Argentina is usually grass-fed _ which has a much different flavor than our corn-fed beef. Grass-fed beef is now readily available in many large supermarkets. We don't have exactly the same steak cuts as you'll find in Argentina, but we have plenty of tender options for quick, hot cooking.
Skirt steak sports tremendous beef flavor _ we like it for its juiciness _ just be cautious not to cook it past medium or it can be tough.
Hangar steak and flank steak are lean, flavorful cuts that benefit from a garlicky, tangy marinade, high heat cooking and thin slicing. A great basis for a delicious spoonful of chimichurri.
For quick-cooking kebabs, I prefer lean and exceedingly tender beef tenderloin. Chose lean, trimmed sirloin for a beefier flavor. Baby bella mushrooms and sweet bell peppers take kindly to the chimichurri too.
Fast-roasted golden potatoes, such as Yukons, need only a little oil and salt to turn into a creamy, irresistible side dish. Pass plenty of red chimichurri for spooning on top.
Red chimichurri. Meat and potatoes never had it so good.
