Chimichurri () is an uncooked sauce used both as an ingredient in cooking and as a

table condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is served separat ...

for

grilled meat Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above, below or from the side. Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat a ...

. Found in Argentinian,

Nicaraguan Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

and

Uruguayan Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

cuisines,Joyce Goldstein
The mysterious origins of chimichurri
''San Francisco Chronicle'' (October 5, 2012). the sauce comes in a green (''chimichurri verde'') and red (''chimichurri rojo'') version. It is made of finely chopped

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...

, minced

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

oregano Oregano (, ; ''Origanum vulgare'') is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It was native to the Mediterranean region, but widely naturalised elsewhere in the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Oregano is a woody perennial pla ...

and

red wine vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ...

or lemon juice. It is somewhat similar to Moroccan chermoula.

Etymology

The name may be a variant of Spanish ''chirriburri'' 'hubbub', ultimately perhaps from Basque ''zurrumurru'' 'noise, rumor'. Another theory connects it to Basque ''tximitxurri'' 'hodgepodge', 'mixture of several things in no particular order'; many

Basques The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...

settled in Argentina in the 19th century. Various, almost certainly

false etymologies A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...

purport to explain the name as a corruption of English words, most commonly "Jimmy sCurry", "Jimmy McCurry", or "gimme curry", but no contemporary documentation of any of these stories has been found.

Preparation

Chimichurri is always made from finely chopped

, but other seasonings used vary.Maria Baez Kijac, ''The South American Table: The Flavor and Soul of Authentic Home Cooking from Patagonia to Rio de Janeiro, with 450 Recipes'' (Harvard Common Press, 2003), p. 337. Inclusion of

, salt, black pepper,

, red pepper flakes, and

sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...

is typical (plus a shot of hot water). Some recipes add shallot or onion, and lemon juice. Chimichurri may be basted or spooned onto meat as it cooks, or onto the cooked surface of meat as it rests. Chimichurri is often served as an accompaniment to ''asados'' (grilled meats). It may be served with grilled steaks or roasted sausages, but also with poultry or fish.

Other uses of the term

In the Dominican Republic, ''chimichurri'' or ''chimi'' is a hamburger topped with chopped cabbage and

salsa golf ' (Spanish for "golf sauce") is a cold sauce of somewhat thick consistency, common in Argentina. According to legend, it was invented by the physician Luis Federico Leloir in the mid-1920s at a golf club at the seaside resort Mar del Plata. Tired ...

. In the cuisine of León, Mexico, ''chimichurri'' is a pizza topping of mayonnaise, mustard, chile de árbol, white vinegar, garlic, oil and salt. This dressing has an orange hue and is very popular in the city.

References

External links

{{Condiments Argentine cuisine Sauces Marinades Uruguayan cuisine

Etymology

Preparation

Other uses of the term

See also

References

External links