Chimichurri Sauce Recipe {Most Flavorful!} - Cooking Classy (2024)

FAQs

How do you get the bitterness out of chimichurri? ›

Chimichurri can become bitter if the ingredients aren't balanced properly. Thankfully, there are a few easy ways to fix bitter-tasting chimichurri. Adding more acidity, like citrus or vinegar, can counteract bitter flavors. You can also add a touch of sweetness in the form of honey or sugar.

Chimichurri is a beautiful raw sauce that is used in several Mexican and South American dishes. There are two green chimichurri sauces, a Mexican chimichurri with parsley and cilantro (like in this recipe), or the Argentinian chimichurri that uses parsley and oregano.

What Kind of Oil for Chimichurri? If you look at recipes online, some makers of chimichurri will opt for common oils such as canola, while others will opt for a more traditional choice — olive oil.

We like our sauce on the tangy, vinegary side. If you prefer things to be a bit more tame, reduce the amount of vinegar to 3 or 4 tablespoons.

Spices mask bitter flavors, so don't be shy. Add some spicy peppers or powders to your cooking, or sprinkle some onto your dishes for a little bit of extra heat. Black pepper in particular has compounds that counteract bitterness. Some other great spices include cayenne, red pepper, paprika, and chili powder.

Bitter spices like Fenugreek, Oregano and Turmeric can be used.

Health benefits: Chimichurri seasoning is made with fresh herbs, such as parsley and oregano, which are packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. Additionally, the garlic in chimichurri is known to have immune-boosting properties.

The bulk is parsley and oregano and we'll use a smaller amount of oregano as well. When you're cutting your herbs up, remember you can cut the parsley and cilantro stems and all- just give them a rough chop to measure, but for the oregano, you'll want to pull those little stems off the woody stem.

Chimichurri sauce keeps well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. For longer storage, you can freeze it! I like to portion it into ice cube trays so that I can thaw a little at a time. The cubes will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Chimichurri is a popular green or red, Spanish “raw” sauce that originated in Argentina and Uruguay and is used for both marinades and to cook in and as a condiment you add on the side of your dishes. Its ingredients are mainly chopped parsley and/or cilantro, garlic, olive oil, and spices.

What flavors go well with chimichurri? ›

While Chimichurri Sauce is especially great paired with the strong beefy flavours of steak, it's also terrific with other proteins – chicken, turkey, fish, prawns/shrimp – as well as vegetables.

Use the sharpest knife in your kitchen when making this recipe. A dull knife can pulverize the herbs making the chimichurri look kind of brown.

Don't over-process the olive oil.

Only pulse the oil a few times in order to combine. If you over-process the oil, its polyphenols can break away from the fatty acids causing oxidation which will make the chimichurri taste bitter. If you're worried about this, you may stir the olive oil in by hand.

For instance, if you prefer a spicier sauce, you can add more red chilli pepper or even red chilli flakes. If you find the chimichurri sauce too tangy, you can reduce the amount of vinegar used or add a pinch of sugar to balance the flavour.

How to Make Food Less Acidic. Add a fat such as butter, heavy cream, sour cream, cheese, or olive oil to coat the tongue and physically block some of the acidity from your taste buds. You might also try adding a sweetener such as sugar, honey, or maple syrup.

Sweetness balances out acidity, spice, and bitterness. A salad composed of bitter greens may benefit from a sweeter dressing. But sweetness can come from sources other than one-note white sugar; consider honey, pureed dates, maple syrup, jam, or molasses as sweeteners that also add flavor and mouth-feel.

Like salt, acids such as vinegar or lemon juice compete with bitter flavor compounds, lessening our perception of these tastes as they “brighten” remaining ones. We use vinegar to enliven the flavor of everything from soups and stews to sauces.

Leaf states that this can be due to burning the sauce in the pot or simply dealing with a batch of produce that are overly acidic or metallic from canning or cooking. This can also come from under-ripe or low-quality tomatoes, as well as stirring in a hefty amount of tomato paste, per Boss The Kitchen.

Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce

But remember the flavours will get stronger after it's had time to rest for a while. If time allows, let it sit for more than 2 hours to release all of the flavours into the oil before using. If you don't have the time, wait at least 10 minutes.