When I was in college 45 years ago, we had an Argentine student in our department who ate his mess-hall steaks with the strangest green sauce from home. (He got a bottle once a month.) Being an adventurous eater, I tried some, and Wow.
Years later, I found a bottle of the green stuff in a gourmet deli (= $$$). It didn’t hold a candle to my memories of piquancy, herbaceousness, and unctiousness. The Argentine restaurants that popped up here and there serving meat, meat, meat offered it, but it still wasn’t what his family had sent him (and thus me).
Last Sunday, I made a Cuban Pork Roast for Easter dinner, and we had enough left over for two more meals. We decided a sauce was in order, but I didn’t want it to compete with the rub and marinade I’d used. So we prepared the following and realized after the fact we had made Chimichurri. We “pulled” the pork before adding the sauce. It’s not strictly Argentine, but it is GOOD.
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1.5 tsp roasted garlic
1/4 cup fresh finely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup fresh finely chopped basil
Splash Rice vinegar
Splash Agave syrup
Lime juice
Double splash Olive oil
Tbsp Melted Butter
Mix well and heat in microwave to release spice oils. Allow to sit for a half hour. Adjust the acid-sweet balance. Makes enough for 2-3 five ounce portions of meat.
