Grilled Steak with Chimichurri

On Saturday nights, instead of going out to a restaurant, we usually look for new recipes to try while enjoying a nice bottle, or two, of wine. In the summer that involves the grill, and Jon picked up a nice French Tip cut of beef at a local farm. The butcher described it as something between a London broil and flank steak. It was somewhat thin with nice marbling.


I have had this recipe for chimichurri saved for a while, and wanted to try it with grilled steak. Chimichurri is an Argentinian sauce usually used as a marinade or sauce for grilled steak. Many versions use parsley as the base, and others add cilantro. I chose one that used both cilantro and parsley.

Cooking the Beef
Jon prepped the steak by rubbing it with cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt, and pepper. He heated the grill to 400 degrees, seared it, and then cooked it for 20 minutes to medium.

Chimichurri Ingredients

• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I was out, so I used red wine vinegar)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (I used Mexican oregano)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

• Place garlic in food processor; pulse until finely chopped.
• Add cilantro, parsley, onion, vinegar, oregano and pepper flakes. Add olive oil in a thin stream and process until smooth.
• Add salt and pepper. Refrigerate, covered, up to 1 week. Makes 1 cup.

I really liked this cut of beef. It was leaner than flank steak, and very tender without having to marinate it. The chimichurri added just the right amount of flavor, bite, and acidity to round out the smoky flavors in the beef.

Idea for leftovers - make a sandwich on a nice baguette with the chimichurri, cold sliced beef, and possibly arugula or sprouts and even tomato.