Cilantro is by far my favorite herb. I don’t make a salad without it. So when I saw this recipe for South American Chimichurri sauce loaded with cilantro I knew I was going to love it!
This sauce takes minutes to whip up in a food processor and it keeps for about a week in the fridge. Use it on everything from steak, pork and chicken to grilled veggies and even your morning eggs.
Here’s the recipe for the chimichurri sauce (from the Real Food for Healthy Kids Cookbook) and a bonus recipe for veggie chimichurri quesadillas.
Chimichurri Ingredients:
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 1 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley sprigs
- 1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves (you can leave the parsley out and use 2 cups cilantro if you want it even spicier)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Chop the garlic in a food processor until it sticks to the bowl. Add the parsley and cilantro and process until finely chopped. In a bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and crushed red pepper flakes. Pour the mixture into the food processor and run until blended. Makes about 1 cup of sauce.
Quesadilla Ingredients:
- 6-10 thin slices of red and yellow bell peppers
- 1 handful of spinach leaves, washed
- 2 tablespoons of crumbled goat cheese
- 1 tablespoon of chimichurri sauce
- whole wheat flour tortilla
Spread the chimichurri sauce on the bottom half of a whole wheat tortilla. Layer the spinach on top and top with bell peppers. Sprinkle the goat cheese on top and fold the top over the bottom to seal it. Press in a quesadilla maker or seal edges with a little water and warm in a skillet until the cheese is melted and the peppers are warmed through. I made these recently and added the leftover pork from last week’s lemon garlic pork tenderloin medallions and they were amazing! I had them for dinner, then lunch, then dinner again. I wish I was joking but I really ate them for three meals in two days.
Do you have a favorite sauce or spread that works great with multiple dishes?
