Chimichurri

Chimichurri is an Argentinean sauce that is usually served with grilled beef, such as in a typical Argentine asado. Occasionally, he will still be used as a marinade for fish or poultry, or as a sauce for the popular sausage on white bread ( Choripan ).

The most common is in the Argentinean chimichurri kitchen and Uruguay, but also in other Latin American countries, all the way up to Nicaragua it is known. Similarly, the Chilean Pebre (probably a anglicism by Pepper, pepper ), which is not so finely ground and may also include coriander and tomatoes. The Mexican Pico de Gallo ( "rooster 's beak" ) goes even further in the direction of a spicy tomato salad.

Preparation

One of the main ingredients for chimichurri include chopped parsley, dried thyme and oregano, bay leaf, garlic, aji Molido (dried red pepper flakes ), onions, salt and black pepper that are finely crushed in a mortar. They are then thoroughly mixed with oil and vinegar, until a thick emulsion forms, which should be at least two weeks draw in a clear glass jar in a cool place. A distinction is milder and sharper variants. The latter contained significantly more paprika and pepper. Ready prepared chimichurri is also available in bottles. Concentrates in the dry state should be mixed with oil and vinegar.

Origin and etymology

The preparation shall be based, as a large part of Argentine food culture, on Spanish and Italian models. Significant similarities to Chimichurri has, for example, the Genoese pesto.

The origin of the name is uncertain, however. Usually a home is suspected from the English. So to go back to the inventor of the sauce the word, an Irishman named Jimmy McCurry, which the troops Manuel Belgrano accompanied supposedly during the Wars of Independence to the early 19th century.

Other similar stories call Jimmy Curry, Kerry and Jimmy, an English meat dealer who is said to have the sauce very much appreciated, or a Scotsman named James C. Hurray, who lived together with Argentine gauchos.

Occasionally, the origin among the British prisoners of war after the English invasions of 1806 and 1807 in Buenos Aires is suspected. These were the first only speak broken Spanish and are from the locals the ingredients for the grill with the words "Che! Soon Me Curry ' have requested (such as "Friend Me gravy"! ). On the other hand, it should at Chimichurri to the Spanish corruption of the English sentence " Give me the curry" ( " Give me the gravy" ) act.