I can barely believe how patient I’ve been, holding off on any grilling-related recipes until now. Rather than brashly and prematurely declare BBQ season (as I was able to safely do in March last year, people!), I’ve been holding out until there was at least one full week of shorts-and-skirts weather. However, it has become clear to me that this kind of winning streak will obviously never happen ever again, ever, so the passing of the May long weekend seems as good a time as any to do it. SO: it’s time to get your grills fired up again peeps!
First things first: Go out there and take a good look at your BBQ. Have you been delinquent in keeping it covered, resulting in rusty grills or elements? Did you basically forget to clean it at the end of last summer and leave tiny bits of charred food all up in there? Has a small family of woodland creatures made it their home over the winter? Make sure you give it a good cleaning to start off the season right and replace any old or rusted out burners and grills. If the thought of dealing with all that makes you tired, you can always hire someone to do it.
To appease the meat eaters and vegetarians alike, I’m inaugurating this BBQ season with a simple marinade that can be used with vegetables, fish or any meat with great results. I first ate Argentinian chimichurri, a bright, garlicky green sauce, at a fabulous tiny Cuban restaurant in New York’s West Village. They served it in a very classic preparation, spooned over perfectly char-grilled churrasco steak. This is my favourite use of the sauce — used as a condiment over a very simply seasoned, quality piece of meat, with some good crusty bread to sop up the drippings. However, it doubles as an excellent and flavourful marinade for almost anything you want to grill: beef, chicken, pork, fish, vegetables; and you can also toss it with warm potatoes for an herby potato salad, or drizzle it on some sliced tomatoes and cucumbers for a quick salad.
Classic Argentinian chimichurri is usually a mix of parsley, garlic, red wine vinegar and olive oil, but there are many variations that can include chopped red bell peppers, onions or tomatoes, other green herbs like cilantro or oregano and various spices and seasonings. I prefer a slight twist on the classic, using a mix of both parsley and cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, but otherwise keeping it simple. There’s no shortage of recipes online so feel free to experiment and find the one you like best. The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
Chimichurri
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp red wine, white wine or Sherry vinegar
Squeeze of ½ a lemon
1 tsp Kosher salt
Large pinch red pepper flakes
Fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1. Put garlic and herbs in a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Add vinegar and lemon juice, salt, chili and pepper. Pulse a few more times, then stream in the olive oil, blending until emulsified and well incorporated. Adjust for salt if necessary. Use at will.
Sara Chan is a Toronto-based entertainment lawyer, food enthusiast, unprofessional home chef and even less professional food photographer. Her favourite food group is pork. Sara’s column appears every other Tuesday here on lawandstyle.ca.
Photo by John Herschell