Oven Roasted Vegetable Chimichurri Recipe
By Asado Argentina on Jul 8, 2008 in Featured, Seasonings
For this surprisingly smooth, yet flavorful, chimichurri, I take some of the fresh ingredients that one might find in their favorite Chimichurri and roast them in the oven. It’s almost like a romesco sauce without the nuts and bread.
Oven Roasted Vegetable Chimichurri
2 plum or roma tomatoes (salmonella-free); halved
1 small red bell pepper; halved
1 medium-sized onion (about the size of a billiard ball); quartered
6 cloves of garlic; unpeeled
Flat-leaf parsley (enough leaves with some stems to tightly pack 3/4 cup); roughly chopped
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup neutral-flavored oil (sunflower)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper
red pepper flakes (optional)
extra oil for roasting vegetables
Preheat broiler*
Place tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion, and garlic into a roasting pan. Drizzle a little oil over everything (start with a very small amount, you can always add extra later). With your hands, rub that oil over every surface of the ingredients. Or use a brush if you are afraid of getting your hands dirty. Arrange tomatoes and pepper so that the pieces are skin side up.
Place under broiler. After 5 minutes, remove garlic (oh, the smell of roasted garlic) and continue to broil the rest for 4-5 minutes. The tomatoes and onions should be ready to be removed. If the pepper skin has not evenly browned or blackened to the point were the skin can come off easily, continue broil while checking every minute until ready. Set all of the ingredients aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
Remove the skins from garlic, tomatoes, and peppers. Remove seeds and pulp from the tomatoes and peppers. If any of the onion pieces are badly blackened, trim and remove those parts. Or leave a little for added smoky flavor. Add these ingredients to a food processor along with parsley, vinegar, water, oregano, salt, and paprika. Process for 10 seconds. Then use the pulse button until the parsley is finely chopped–a little larger in size than dried oregano. Add oil and pulse a few more times.
Pour mixture into a bowl. Add black pepper, red pepper flakes, and extra salt(if needed) to taste. Due to the sweetness of the roasted vegetables and the creamy-like texture from the oil, this sauce is extremely smooth and mellow. I like to add some extra vinegar tablespoon by tablespoon, while tasting, until there is a little extra bite. Use immediately or allow it to rest, covered, in the refrigerator overnight for maximum deliciousness.
*I use a gas oven set on 4 with the pan about 3.5 to 4 inches under the flame.
I’m absolutely thrilled to find a real Argentinian rendition of chimichurri. I know there are so many version of it but this one is rather special and I love it. Tagged and on the menu for the next barbque.
giz | Jul 8, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting about the sandwiches de miga. Your chimichurri looks excellent! I wish I had the chance to have some while I was in Argentina
Hillary | Jul 18, 2008 | Reply
No prob, and glad to hear you had a good time!
Asado Argentina | Jul 18, 2008 | Reply
Cool concept have to try but I wonder if that recipe above take us closer to Mexican salsa No?
srichard | Jul 30, 2008 | Reply
Well, in a way, yes, you could say so. But, like I mentioned above, you could also say it leans toward Spanish romesco.
There are so many varieties, and versions, of “salsas” throughout Latin American yet, when you really dig deep, they are quite similar in principle. Maybe the addition, or exclusion, of one or more ingredients set them apart. Or maybe just swapping an ingredient will do the trick. Not to mention method of preparation and/or how “fresh” the sauce is when served.
Llajwa, a spicy condiment in Bolivia (aka pebre in northern Chile), is quite similar to some Mexican salsas except local varieties of chile peppers and herbs are used.
Also, pebre in Chile is quite similar to chimichurri in Argentina except cilantro often is the key herb instead of parsley.
This really is an interesting subject and one that I can never fully find answers to. Should I not have tagged this as chimichurri? Should the designation of chimichurri only apply the most widely accepted versions out there?
A post to expand upon this topic would be a great idea.
Asado Argentina | Jul 30, 2008 | Reply
It is really amazing how almost every north american likes chimuchurri. If you google that word the results will be mainly in english, not in spanish. The reason is that we argentines do not eat chimichurri with our steaks or asado. We eat it only and very seldom with a choripan.
schussheim | Aug 8, 2008 | Reply
well, dear asado argentina. I must tell you that your chimichurri as posted above has nothing to do with the romesco, pronounced romescu in Spain.
The romesco sauce, which was first written 1000 years ago, is more close to a mayonnaise, anda it is made in a mortar with garlic, almonds, nyoras (a certain type of pepper that grows specially in Catalonia), olive oil, salr and just a drop of vinegar. It is usually eaten with grilled calcots.
schussheim | Aug 8, 2008 | Reply
This looks delicious! Summer here and we are headed to an asado with some friends, I bet this chimmichurri would be great! I’ll save it for the next asado at our place! Thanks!
Rebecca | Aug 9, 2008 | Reply
@schussheim: “we argentines” is stretching it a bit isn’t it? That’s like saying “we U.S. Americans” only like tomato-based bbq sauce and only use it on chopped pork sandwiches. Do some people have that mentality? Yes, but that doesn’t mean everyone else does.
I’ve been to many asados and I’ve always, always, seen some sort of chimichurri on the table. Some people at the table used it only with a choripan, or two, while others drizzled a little on every morsel of meat. Am I speaking for all Argentineans? No, just the asados I’ve been to. With restaurants and steaks I agree with you in that chimichurri is rarely seen in most establishments.
>>romesco
Well, dear schussheim, I really don’t care what the original romesco (yes, I used an O) was 1000 years ago. I’ve seen many romesco recipes on Spanish web sites (in Spain right?) that look similar to this except they include nuts and bread; +/- a few other things. I said “almost”, not the same. A lot of people are familiar with those versions so that’s why I mentioned it.
If you want to live in a walled garden where there is only one method or version for everything then go right ahead. Don’t waste my time.
Asado Argentina | Aug 10, 2008 | Reply
I did not want to be rude and I apologize for having wasted your time. But when something is a classic it remains a classic despite what people is doing to fuss it.
There are lots of recipes of chimichurri and many, many ways to grill an asado.
But there is only one to cook a Margheritta pizza, an Oreiller de la Belle Aurore or a romescu sauce.
And do not trust Spanish pages. Nowadays spaniards tend to be very weird people that believe they are europeans too.
A final question. Are you a woman?
I am asking this because a man would never feel that arguing in the net about food it’s a waste of time.
schussheim | Aug 10, 2008 | Reply
You know, I read the first part of your last comment and thought that we could start over again with a friendly debate. The last part gives me the impression that you are as much a fan of misogyny as you are of food. Sexist comments don’t belong here.
Asado Argentina | Aug 11, 2008 | Reply
Of course I am not a misogyne. On the contrary, I believe that women should run the world. They are a lot smarter then us and by far much honest. Just look around to see the world that we, males, have created.
I wrote that question in a tongue in cheek way. After writing the question I wandered through your site (that I enjoy very much) and discovered that you mentioned something about your wife.
So here it goes my second apologize in two days.
Now, can we go back into a friendly debate.
I insist that there are many classic recipes (in cooking, as well in music, in painting, in writing) that have what designer call “a limit design”, meaning that they can not be changed in something better.
Some thirty years ago an argentine composer named Waldo de los Rios made a record with Mozart, Beethoven and other great composers, with an orchestra plus drums, and played that music in a pop way.
This was unnecesary. Despite his great success (because most of people likes cheap things) he just ruined great music that would be equally succesfull if all the pop radios had broadcasted the original scores with the same commercially enthusiasm they did with the cheap Waldo de los Rios stupid arrangements.
With some recipes and foods happent the same thing. Ignorant people
vulgarize them, as they vulgarize art.
Coming back to romescu, I recommend you to searcn about calcots+Valls, which is THE place in Spain to eat and learn about the fantastic-thousand-year-old original romescu.
Let’s not change things that must not be changed.
schussheim | Aug 11, 2008 | Reply
I made this the other day and it was so very delicious :)Thank you so much for the recipe!
Jo | Aug 14, 2008 | Reply
Thanks Jo!
Asado Argentina | Aug 15, 2008 | Reply