Argentine green sauce for steak with parsley and oregano microgreens in place of mature herbs: brighter color, tender texture, 15 minutes of knife work.
INGREDIENTS
- 40 g - parsley microgreens
- 3 g - oregano microgreens
- 3 clove - garlic
- 1 pc - shallot (20 g)
- 30 ml - red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp - red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp - salt
- 100 ml - extra virgin olive oil
- black pepper to taste
STEPS
- Rinse the parsley and oregano microgreens in cold water and dry them thoroughly on a towel or in a salad spinner.
- Mince the garlic and shallot as finely as you can, cover with the vinegar, add the salt and pepper flakes, and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Chop the parsley microgreens with a knife into 3-5 mm (1/8-1/4 in) pieces. Chop the oregano separately and more finely.
- Mix the greens into the garlic-vinegar base, pour in the olive oil, season with pepper, and stir.
- Let the sauce sit at room temperature for 20 minutes so the flavors come together. Serve with steak, chicken, or roasted vegetables.
Parsley and Oregano Microgreens in Chimichurri
Chimichurri is the Argentine sauce of parsley, garlic, vinegar, and oil served with grilled meat. The classic uses mature parsley leaves and dried oregano. Here microgreens stand in for both. Parsley microgreens are more tender than mature leaves, with no tough stems and the same fresh garden aroma, so the sauce comes out bright green and lighter.
Oregano microgreens work like a spice: 3 g for the whole batch, dosed the way you’d dose salt. They add a Mediterranean herbal accent, and more is not better.
About the Ingredients
Parsley microgreens: 40 g, about two handfuls. They must be dry, since water on the leaves thins the sauce and keeps the oil from coating the greens.
Red wine vinegar is the classic choice. Apple cider vinegar works and makes a softer sauce.
Olive oil: extra virgin, but not too bitter. A very peppery oil drowns out delicate microgreens.
Shallot is milder than a regular onion. Red onion is a fine swap.
Technique: Knife Only
A blender turns microgreens into green paste within seconds, and the sauce ends up closer to pesto. Chimichurri should be coarser, with 3-5 mm bits of green visible in the oil, so chop by hand. Soak the garlic and shallot in the vinegar for 5 minutes first to take the harsh edge off.
Variations
- Red chimichurri: add 1 tsp smoked paprika and half a roasted red pepper, finely chopped.
- With cilantro: swap a third of the parsley microgreens for cilantro microgreens.
- Spicier: a fresh seeded chili instead of the flakes.
- As a marinade: use half the sauce to marinate chicken or pork for 1-2 hours.
Serving and Storage
The classic pairing is steak or grilled meat, with the sauce spooned over the sliced meat. Chimichurri also works with chicken, roasted vegetables, potatoes, and fish. In a sealed jar in the fridge it keeps for 2 days; after that the microgreens darken. Let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving so the oil loosens. How long the microgreens themselves keep before cooking is covered in our wiki: how long microgreens keep.
Another way to serve microgreens with steak: microgreen compound butter.
CHEF'S TIPS
Skip the blender: microgreens turn to paste in seconds and you end up with pesto.
Dissolve the salt in the vinegar, not the oil: salt doesn't dissolve in oil and stays crunchy.
Spoon the sauce over steak after slicing so it doesn't slide off the meat.
