Every once in a while I get random cravings for foods I’ve never eaten before… like steak with chimichurri. For some reason my body has been craving Latin American food. It’s like my heart is screaming maduros! tostones! rice and beans! arroz con pollo! Luckily while the Latin American food scene in Toronto is underdeveloped, it’s easy enough to find the ingredient necessary to prepare the dishes.
For reasons unknown on this particular day all I could think of was flank steak with chimichurri. Flank steak is a tough cut of meat that is also really cheap. It’s often used in braised applications to break down the toughness but it works well in this dish where it’s simply broiled. The trick to actually being able to chew this meat once it’s cooked is to slice it thinly across the grain.
The chimichurri sauce is super simple to whip together and packs such a flavourful punch. Seriously, why don’t I put chimichurri on everything? When I was eating the steak I had so much sauce on my plate you’d probably ask if I want some steak with my sauce. I was scooping it up and eating it with the rice and beans that I made too. So good.
This is such a great weeknight meal. Very quick to throw together and some really interesting flavours. I had dinner on the table in about 30 minutes and we’re talking steak, sauce, rice AND beans. Oh and I had leftover flank steak for DAYS which was totally fine by me.
Flank Steak with Chimichurri
1 1/2 pounds trimmed flank steak
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 large garlic clove
1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Preheat broiler.
Pat steak dry. Stir together 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, coriander, and pepper in a small bowl and rub mixture onto both sides of steak. Broil steak on a broiler pan about 4 inches from heat 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, with motor running, add garlic to a food processor and finely chop. Add cilantro, parsley, vinegar, oil, cayenne, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, then pulse until herbs are finely chopped.
Holding a knife at a 45-degree angle, thinly slice steak. Serve with sauce.
Gourmet
January 2001
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Yum, I LOVE chimichurri. It’s great with grilled chicken, too!
Never have had chimichurri… Going to eat some homemade enchiladas in a moment though. I suppose Latin America is in the air.