Because my mother was born in Argentina and because I come from a long line of asado-loving gauchos, this dish is near and dear to my family and culture. Chimichurri is a staple sauce of many Argentine dishes and is an oil-based, garlic-centric garnish for the flank steak.
Makes: 4 steaks
Serving size: 1 steak
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes
INGREDIENTS
4 flank steaks, about 6oz (170g) each
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp unsalted butter
for the sauce
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
5 garlic cloves, minced
1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
1⁄4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 tbsp water
DIRECTIONS
1 Preheat the grill to medium. Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper.
2 Place the steaks directly on the grill, top each with 1⁄2 tablespoon of butter, and cook until well seared and dark brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and continue grilling until the steaks reach your desired doneness:
3 Make the sauce in a food processor fitted with a steel blade by blending the parsley and garlic until finely chopped, stopping as necessary to scrape the sides of the bowl. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and water. (You can strengthen the taste by refrigerating this overnight.)
4 Remove the steaks from the grill, slice as desired, and serve immediately with the chimichurri. (You can also serve the sauce on toasted Italian bread.)
Grilling with large-grain salt gives the outside of the meat that crunchy char that the best steakhouses have.
per serving