Originally published on Friday, 18th July 2008

 

Rib-Eye Steak with Chimichurri

 

Serves 4

Chimichurri is a delicious Argentinean marinade and condiment that no Argentinean ‘asado’ is compete without.

Essentially a mixture of finely chopped herbs, chili, salt and paprika, chimichurri has roots in Italian pesto, French persillade, and Sicilian salmoriglio - chimichurri reflects the European heritage of many Argentineans who still speak with a distinctly Italian inflection to their Spanish.

If you have the luxury of having access to an outdoor wood fire, let your fire burn down to glowing coals before putting your steaks on the fire. The smell and flavour will be truly memorable.

Ingredients

4 rib eye steaks, 1.5 inches thick
Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp olive oil

Chimichurri

2 green chilis
1 banana shallot
a small handful each of rosemary, thyme, oregano and parsley
4 cloves garlic
250 mls olive oil
1 tbsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Sea salt
Freshly grated black pepper
a splash or warm water to loosen (if necessary)

Instructions

To make the chimichurri, char the chili by placing it directly in the open flame of a gas hob, or under the grill. Turn it with tongs a few times until the skin is wrinkled and blackened, about  2 minutes. Set aside to cool and then halve, seed and mince the peppers finely.

Mince the shallot, herbs and garlic finely and mix with the chili in a small bowl. Warm the olive oil  in a sauce pan until warm but not hot, then pour over the garlic and herb mixture stirring well to combine.  Stir in the paprika and red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Leave to allow the flavour to develop for at least a half an hour before using, then check the consistency and add a splash of warm water to loosen (it should be runny rather than too thick) if necessary.

Season the steak well with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on high heat. Add the steaks and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side for medium rare brushing the steaks with some of the chimichurri as it cooks.  

Serve the steaks with the remainder of the chimichurri in a bowl for diners to spoon over their steaks.

Next recipe…

Jennifer Klinec from Eat Drink Talk has kindly agreed to provide Urban Junkies readers with mouthwatering recipes and foodtips.

To learn more, classes at Eat Drink Talk are held in Jennifer's beautiful loft in Clerkenwell, packed with information and useful tips, and you'll get to sample all of the delicious dishes prepared during class.

 

by JK

In collaboration with Eat Drink Talk