Salsa chimichurri, two words that roll off the tongue and are ever present at any authentic Argentine steak dinner. Upon researching the history of this traditional condiment from Argentina I discovered some wildly imaginative reasons for its existence, as well as the origin of its name.
Argentina is well known for its beef. Along with colonization the Spanish settlers also brought with them cattle and thus the beef-centered cuisine of Argentina was born. As the story goes, these Argentine cowboys a.k.a gauchos wandered the lands living as nomads, slaughtering the cattle and cooking the fresh meat over an open flame. Obviously at this time popping over to the local supermarket for some A1 steak sauce wasn’t an option and so in living such a minimalist lifestyle one has to adapt and make due with what is available. Originally chimichurri probably consisted of dried parsley and oregano as well as some garlic, oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Today, however, chimichurri recipes vary greatly.
Now to the name, here’s where the story gets a bit fuddled. My favorite that I’ve heard so far is that it was created from a mixture of English, aboriginal and Spanish words. After the British invasions of Rio de la Plata the prisoners are said to have asked for a condiment for their food. According to the story what they said was “che-mi-curry” which in rough translation is hey give me condiment. Others claim that the sauce name can be attributed to an English or Irish soldier named Jimmy who joined in the fight for Argentine independence. His sauce was called Jimmy’s curry, which was difficult for Spanish speakers to pronounce, and so it became chimichurri. Another possibility, suggested by Steven Raichlen, is that the term was derived from the Basque word “tximitxurri”. This word loosely translates to “a mixture of several things in no particular order”. Due to the fact that there is a Basque presence in Argentina and they are well known animal herders it’s probably fair to assume that this is the most logical and probable of all three stories.
So what’s so fantastic about chimichurri? This savory sauce will not only fill your kitchen with the rich aroma of fresh herbs and spices but it will send your taste buds into a fit of ecstasy. This easy to make herbaceous salsa will earn you some serious culinary cred and there’s no real cooking involved! Next time you’re looking for a quick addition to practically any meal I highly recommend throwing together a quick batch of chimichurri. I can guarantee that your guests will be raving about how fantastically fresh and flavorful it was.
Steak Buenos Aires 