Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce

This recipe is great using fresh spring onions and green garlic, but you can use regular garlic cloves and onions if it isn’t the season. There is a lot of flexibility in this recipe. Add more acidity if you like, it is really nice with both red wine vinegar and a bit of lemon juice. You’ll use the whole bunch of cilantro, stems and all! If you happen to have fresh parsley it will add a nice touch to the sauce but it isn’t necessary. The finished sauce is great in many applications, from a dressing for chopped salads to a marinade for meat. It’s an easy addition to liven up a lackluster meal.

Ingredients

• 6-12 stalks green garlic or 3-6 regular cloves garlic
• 2 slender spring onions, white part and green part
• Large bunch of cilantro
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon, lime juice and/or vinegar (any type you would want on a salad)
• 1-2 teaspoons dried herb, oregano or thyme would be best
• 1-2 teaspoons cumin powder
• 1 teaspoons dried red chile flakes, if desired
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (spanish varieties are best for this sauce, because they tend to be more peppery in flavor, other good oils will do, like a sesame oil)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Fresh ground pepper and additional salt to taste
• Add more oil to thin, if desired

Directions

Cut green portion of the green garlic off, discard (remove any papery membranes from garlic cloves). Pulse garlic cloves in food processor for about 10 seconds, until finely minced.  Add cilantro, lemon/lime/vinegar, dried herbs, cumin, and salt.  Pulse for about 1 minute, until cilantro is chopped and ingredients are combined.  Add oil and continue to pulse until well combined.  Empty into serving dish and add fresh ground pepper to taste, along with more salt and oil, if desired.

Note: I like to make this ahead of time; let sit, covered, in the fridge for a day and you will notice how much stronger and dynamic the flavors are. Good for about 1 week in the fridge.

Submitted by Rani Olson, Tucson CSA