Spicy Chimichurri Sauce

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The classic traditional sauce from Argentina, combining Parsley, Oregano, Olive Oil, Garlic and Red Wine Vinegar. It’s a beautiful, fresh sauce which pairs exceptionally well with roasted Meat. Steak in particular loves this sauce. This recipe is for our Spicy Chimichurri Sauce, where we ramp up the recipe with spice care of some beautiful Jalapeno Peppers

If you’re a little bit unsure how spicy you want the sauce, there’s a really easy way to manage the spice levels. Best suggestion for our Spicy Chimichurri Sauce is to start with just a little bit of heat, and adjust later. The sauce is one of the easiest to make, as you simply combine all the ingredients into a blender and, well, blend it! So, add a little bit of heat initially, taste it and adjust accordingly

How to make this easy and delicious Spicy Chimichurri Sauce

There are some sauces that are an artform to make, requiring multiple steps, over several days. Some of those classic French sauces such as a classic Bordelaise Sauce are so complex, with multiple steps and dozens of ingredients. Sometimes all you want is to throw a couple of ingredients together, and they’ll just perfectly form something delicious. Well, that’s exactly how you make this Spicy Chimichurri Sauce!

There is no cooking involved in the making of this sauce. All that is required is some slight preparation of fresh ingredients, and then they all go into the blender. That’s all there is to it! The classic Chimichurri Sauce is a combination of Fresh Parsley and Oregano, that are paired with Garlic and Shallots. Just prepare these vegetables by ripping off the leaves (leaving some of the stems is perfectly fine), and peeling the Garlic and Shallots

The final vegetable that is added to the dish is Jalapenos, and they really are the ingredient that brings the whole Chimichurri Sauce together. The seeds within the Jalapeno are where all the extreme heat sits. So, prepare the Jalapeno by cutting it in half and removing the seeds. Set the seeds aside, as you use them to add spice to the sauce a little later

You can substitute dried Oregano for fresh Oregano

Sometimes Oregano is a little bit challenging to find at grocery stores. Parsley, no problem. If your store doesn’t sell Parsley you need to find a new store! However, Oregano can be a bit more of a gamble. Therefore, if you can’t get your hands on any fresh Oregano then using dried Oregano is perfectly fine

The dried stuff has a concentrated flavor, and Oregano is naturally quite a strong ingredient anyway. 2 tsp. of Dried Oregano is about the equivalent of ½ cup of the fresh stuff. Stick to those quantities and you’ll have a lovely, balanced sauce

Straight into the Blender they go

There’s no real need to cut the Garlic or Shallots nicely at all because all the ingredients then go straight into the blender! Yep, just throw them all into the blender and that’s all the prep that you need to do! Along with the vegetables and herbs we add Red Wine Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, and Salt

You need to add enough liquid so that everything can blend together. If you’ve ever tried blending only vegetables, or dry ingredients you’ll know it doesn’t really do much. The Olive Oil is primarily there to provide the Chimichurri Sauce with a lovely, velvety consistency. So, use it until you’ve got the consistency you’re looking for. Personally, we like our Chimichurri a little on the chunkier side, so we use a little less Olive Oil

The Spicy Chimichurri Sauce has a primarily flavor profile of acid and heat. The acid is brought to the dish through both Lemons and Red Wine Vinegar.  We use 1 tsp. of Red Wine Vinegar for every 2 Lemons added to the dish. So, the predominant acid flavor will come from Lemons

 The sauce is a very bright sauce, both in flavor and appearance. So don’t be shy about the acid levels. Given the sauce is generally served alongside heavy, rich dishes such as Steaks, you want the sauce to be quite acidic to balance out those flavors

The Best Chimichurri Sauce is one that’s full of Spice!

The main heat contributor is the seeds within the Jalapenos, so use them sparingly at the start! The sweet spot for our spice levels was to use about ¼ of the seeds. That will still give you quite a kick, but not completely overwhelm the other ingredients in the sauce. Garlic will also give you a bit of a kick too so they pair well with the Jalapenos

We recommend taking out all the seeds from the Jalapeno before you add it to the blender. The Jalapeno Pepper by itself is a little bit spicy, so for some that may be enough heat. Once all the ingredients are combined and you’ve seasoned the dish, give it a taste

Only at this point would we recommend adding more Jalapeno Seeds to the dish. Add a little bit at a time, mix it well and then taste again. Continue until you’ve got the heat you want from the dish

If you’re a spice fiend then we also recommend adding some Red Chilis to the dish. You can either cut them up and blend the same way you did the Jalapenos. Or, you can save them for the end and use the Red Chilis for serving. Cut the Chili into thin strips and then place on top of the Sauce, or on top of the dish you’ve just added the sauce too (eg: a piece of Steak)

This is a great way to add more heat to the dish and add a nice little bit of flair to the presentation too

This Spicy Chimichurri Sauce goes so well with Steak. The richness of the steak balances so well with a fresh Chimichurri. It’s a classic combination for a reason – it tastes phenomenal!

Spicy Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup Fresh Parsley
• ½ cup Fresh Oregano (Alternatively 2 tsp. of Dried Oregano)
• 4 Garlic Cloves, peeled
• 1 Shallot, peeled and quartered
• 1 tsp. Red Wine Vinegar
• ⅓ cup Olive Oil
• 1 large / 2 medium Jalapenos
• ½ Red Chili, finely sliced
• Juice of 2 Lemons
• 2 tsp. Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Prepare all your ingredients then place them into the blender. The Jalapenos will determine how spicy you want your Chimichurri to be. If you want it to be super spicy, keep all of the seeds. Less spicy, remove the seeds
2. Blend all the ingredients until fully combined and they form a smooth texture. Taste the Sauce and adjust where necessary. More Spice = add more Jalapeno Seeds. More Richness = add more Olive Oil. More Acidity = add more Lemon Juice
3. Pour into a serving bowl, finish with a sprinkle of Red Chili and serve immediately, or chill for later use
   
   

Needless to say, the classic combination for the sauce is with Steak. Check out some of our amazing Beef dishes to pair the sauce with. Any recipe will work well with a delicious side of this sauce. Of course, the classic Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce is a favorite of ours. So check out that recipe!

The Spicy Chimichurri Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. However ideally we would recommend eating it within 48 hours of making it. Like any dish packed full of fresh herbs, the freshest it will be is as soon as it’s been prepared. It is such a simple sauce to make, just throw the ingredients in the blender, give it a blitz then serve when you’ve got your steak done!

Happy Cooking!