Cilantro Chimichurri

I posted a recipe for a cilantro and parsley chimichurri almost two years ago. It's a good recipe but it's not my favorite chimichurri recipe. My favorite chimichurri is made with just cilantro - no parsley - and with lots of jalapeño for a good kick of spice and freshness. You have to really love cilantro to make this.

Chimichurri isn't chimichurri unless it messes up your breath with a punch of garlic so I use plenty of that too.

Ingredients [makes about ½ cup chimichurri]:
1 bunch of cilantro (1 cup packed, stems removed)
2 cloves garlic
1 medium-sized jalapeño
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon Worcestershire
¼ to ⅓ cup olive oil

This is the amount of cilantro I used. This is how much is usually bundled together at my market. I like to rip off most of the stem and use the leaves. I just grab either end of the bunch in each hand and twist.

Add all of the ingredients to a food processor. Use 1/4 cup of olive oil to start - you can always add more if necessary.

Pulse the food processor until all of the cilantro is chopped up and the ingredients are mixed together nicely. If it looks too chunky and/or it's not blending well, add a bit more oil.

Scrape all of that yummy goodness into a bowl. Garnish with a slice of jalapeño. It's pretty and it also serves as a warning that tells people that this is a bit spicy.

Chimichurri is delicious with skirt steak. Because it's summer, I used the grill to cook it.

Isn't that a beautiful sight?

To serve, I like to cut the skirt steak into 4 to 5 inch sections. Then, I cut those sections against the grain to make the meat seem more tender than it is. Cutting with the grain will result in a tough and chewy mess of steak.

I like to serve it in a big pile. Medium rare is how my family and I like it.

I grabbed a generous portion for myself and slathered it in chimichurri.

And I served myself some rice and grilled potatoes too. Wow, what a carb and meat-centric dinner. Does chimichurri count as a vegetable?

Cheers.