Parsley Pleases the Carnivores

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Argentina, barbecue, chimichurri, food, garlic, Memorial Day, olive oil, oregano, parsley, recipes, vegetarian

Do you remember my last post? Where I showed off my parsley harvest? I know it didn’t impress you. Those parsley plants were bolting. They had to be pulled and tossed into the compost bin.

But why waste perfectly good food? I cut up the stems and roots (washed clean, of course) and threw them in the pot, to flavor the soup stock. Then I plucked all the leaves.

And turned them into chimichurri. To go with all this,

And the carnivores went wild. And it ought to impress you. It’s resourcefulness 101. Even the flowers graced the table as decoration.

I first was introduced to chimichurri by an Argentinian neighbor. Let’s call him Glenn. Glenn was a character. His wife often travelled for work, and when he was left alone in the house, he would do unusual things. One of them was camping, in his own backyard.

He would pitch a tent, live off the land, and cook his meals on a charcoal grill. Mostly he cooked hotdogs and hamburgers. But once in a while, he fancied up and grill steaks, that he would eat with chimichurri sauce. Most of the time, but not always.

(That’s lesson #1: Argentinians don’t always put chimichurri on their steaks, only most of the time.)

Despite his quirkiness, Glenn was very friendly, and once or twice offered for us to sample his meals. Perhaps in an effort to pacify us, for not paying for his share of the fence. That’s another story, but it’s an old one, so I won’t even go there.

Glenn’s chimichurri was very simply made. Chopped up parsley, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, water, salt & pepper. Sometimes he added oregano and hot pepper flakes, but sometimes he didn’t. His sauce was more watery than the ones I’ve seen in restaurants, and he never added lime or lemon juice.

(That’s lesson #2: Argentinians don’t add citrus juice in their chimichurri.)

At a Brazilian steakhouse in Niagara Falls, Canada, I encountered yet a different version of chimichurri. Reddish, with chopped red peppers instead of the more familiar greenish kind. That Brazilian steakhouse is also another story, for another day.

(That’s lesson #3: Brazilian steakhouses are apparently more relaxed about their chimichurri than Glenn.)

Will the real chimichurri please stand?

I could guarantee one thing, though. That all these versions are delicious eaten with your grilled meats. Rivaled only by Korean barbecue sauce, as the perfect condiment to put on top of a piece of beef.

And if there is one ingredient that is common in all versions, it is parsley. Along with garlic.

(That’s lesson #4: Remember the two most important ingredients in chimichurri: Parsley and garlic. It must have them.)

I’ve made many versions of chimichurri, of course. Some thick, some more watery. Some with lime juice, some without. Some with red peppers, some with other herbs, etc. Obviously, some turn out better than others.

But for now, I’m giving you the easiest and safest version, the one that will unlikely go wrong or offend an Argentinian. Unless he’s a traditionalist like Glenn, in which case he will probably let you know that you shouldn’t use a food processor.

As-authentic-as-you-can-get Chimichurri Sauce

• Difficulty: very easy
• Print

You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate, but make sure you let it come to room temperature, so the oil relaxes (“melts”), before serving.

1½ cups flat-leaved parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp fresh oregano or 1 tsp dry, chopped
1 – 2 tsp crushed pepper flakes (depending on your tolerance for heat)
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1-2 tbsp lime/lemon juice (optional) or water
⅓ cup olive oil
Salt & pepper

1. Place all ingredients, except for the oil, in a food processor, and grind until blended.
2. Add olive oil and blend very briefly, or stir by hand. The sauce should not emulsify.

You can make your sauce chunky or smooth. Whatever you prefer. Anything goes. It’s your sauce, you decide.

(Final lesson: Please don’t let Glenn know of the “anything goes” remark, because he would kill me. On second thought, go ahead and tell him. Hey, life is too short! Everybody should be allowed to put in his or her own twist. Besides, we’ve moved to a different state now.)

So actually, there’s no final lesson. Just have a great Memorial Day weekend. Grill some meats, grill some corns. Make a salad, make yuca frita. And don’t forget to make chimichurri sauce, to go with everything.

And make sure other people around you eat their food with the chimichurri. You don’t want to be the only one with the garlic breath. Maybe THAT should be the Final Lesson.

Have a delicious and safe Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

By the way, this reminds me of a debate I had with a friend over how to properly make sambal. Oy, my head is spinning just thinking about it. Thankfully, that’s also another story, for another day. When I have chili peppers to harvest, to make a “proper” sambal.

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Harvest Monday – Herbs

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chicken, herbs, oregano, parsley, pasta, recipes, sage

First real harvest, of sorts. From overwintered herbs and a few bolting vegetables. Not much, but it was a harvest nonetheless, and beggars can’t be choosers. They made it into these meals:

Sage in Ravioli di Magro, for a quick after-school lunch (or early dinner) with the kids. It had to be quick; piano and martial arts lessons within the hour. Thank goodness they both like this one. TG is not a vegetarian, but she eats very little meat. She won’t touch anything with ground meat in it, e.g., hamburgers, sausages, meatballs, etc. So Ravioli di Magro is perfect since it doesn’t contain any meat, but there is still cheese in it for protein.

Ravioli di Magro
(Serves 3)

So easy to make, especially if you use purchased ravioli. We’re lucky to live in an area with abundant access to excellent ready-made Italian food. You get extra brownie points if you make your own ravioli. Look here for instructions: http://m.wikihow.com/Make-Ravioli

Ingredients:

1 package (13 oz) frozen cheese or vegetable ravioli (Magro means thin or lean in Italian. In this dish, it translates to “without meat.”)
1 large clove garlic, sliced thin
2 tbsp butter
12 sage leaves, cut into chiffonade (They were small leaves. You may need less if your leaves are big. Sage is a strong-flavored herb. A little goes a long way, especially if you use dry sage, in which case you would need about half a tsp.)
A splash of cream or milk
Grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

1. In a soup pot, boil water, add a little salt. When it starts boiling hard is when you drop your ravioli in. Fresh ravioli takes just a few minutes to cook. Frozen a little longer, but still very quick. When they start floating to the top is when you remove them, because they are cooked then.

2. While the ravioli is boiling, make your sauce. Heat butter in a sauté pan, on medium high. Add garlic and cook til garlic is golden and butter no longer foams. Add the chiffonade of sage. Remove pan from heat. Add cream or milk. Then add the ravioli.

3. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese.

Later in the week, when everybody had time to sit for dinner, together, I made this roasted chicken, with the oregano. Served with sautéed kale flowers.

Roasted Chicken
(Serves 4)

Many other herbs would work here, not just oregano. Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (anybody singing yet?) would be good with the chicken.

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs & drumsticks
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
Lemon zest from 1 lemon
Salt & Pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade and pour it over chicken, making sure all the pieces are coated with it.

3. In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, brown chicken until golden brown. Transfer chicken to a sheet pan, skin side up.

4. Roast chicken in oven until cooked through, about 30 minutes.

You can make sauce for the chicken if you like, by deglazing the skillet. First remove any burnt small pieces that were left by the browning chicken, then add white wine or chicken broth or both. Let it reduced by half, then stir in butter. Tadaa….you’ve got sauce! We ate our chicken with roasted potatoes and sautéed kale, no sauce.

Parsley was starting to bolt, but still tender and good, so quite a bit was used in Linguine Vongole. Such a simple recipe. Such a delicious dish!

Linguine Vongole
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb linguine
1 can (6.5 oz) chopped clams. You want to use live clams? Even better!
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1 tbsp butter

Method:

1. Boil linguine according to the directions on the box.

2. In a sauté pan, heat olive oil on medium-high, add the garlic and cook til garlic is slightly golden in color.

3. Drain the juice from the clams and add the clams to the pan. It will splatter a bit, but that’s ok. It’s part of the cooking process.

4. Add the white wine. Hopefully by this time, your linguine is at ” al dente” stage, which means you need to drain it and add it to the pan. Then toss it around to absorb the sauce. (If you’re using live clams, cover the pan and let clams cook before adding linguine, about 5 minutes. Clams are cooked when they open up. If you see clams that are not opened, then they’re bad clams and you need to throw those out.)

5. Add the butter. Toss some more, then sprinkle the parsley, and toss again. If the pasta looks too dry, add a little of the boiling water used for cooking the pasta. I hope you saved some.

6. Drizzle a little olive oil before serving.

I didn’t put any parmesan cheese on our linguine because according to an Italian friend it’s a big no-no to add cheese to a seafood dish. Prior to that knowledge, I routinely did. I’d say if it tastes good to you, by all means!

Daphne hosts Harvest Monday. Go to her site and check out other harvests from around the globe.