STEAK WITH ASIAN CHIMICHURRI
Traditional Argentine chimichurri sauce combines fresh herbs with garlic, oil, chilli flakes, spring onions and citrus. The addition of fish sauce and Asian herbs makes this cross-cultural take on a chimichurri a great companion for Asian-inspired meals. It works well drizzled over roasted vegetables, on sandwiches and burgers, or with any kind of brunch or eggs. Its flavour improves over time, so leftovers will be even better the next day.
SERVES 4
PREP & COOKING TIME 25 MINUTES
ASIAN CHIMICHURRI
H 1 green chilli, roughly chopped (deseed if you prefer less heat)
½ medium shallot (30g), roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced, or 2 tsp garlic paste
½ small bunch (15g) coriander stalks and leaves
½ small bunch (15g) mint leaves ½ small bunch (15g) Thai or Italian basil leaves
½ small bunch (15g) parsley stalks and leaves
1 tbsp fish sauce
¼ tsp caster sugar, plus more to taste
8 tbsp flavourless oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed
1 tbsp lemon juice, plus more to taste
pinch of flaky sea salt, plus more to taste
STEAK
4 × 200g steaks, such as sirloin, ribeye or rump
flavourless oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed
flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 lemons, halved chilli flakes, to taste
Place all the chimichurri ingredients in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Taste and season with extra salt, sugar or lemon juice, if needed.
Rub the steaks with oil
(about 2 teaspoons per steak) and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large heavy-based frying pan or griddle pan over a high heat and lightly grease it with oil. Once hot, add the steaks and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side for medium rare (or cook them to your liking).
Transfer the steaks to a chopping board and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Slice thinly on an angle against the grain, about 1cm thick.
Brush 1 teaspoon chimichurri on to the cut side of the lemons. Don’t clean the pan or griddle; you want to soak up the steak flavours when you cook the lemons. Heat the pan or griddle on a high heat and, once hot, add the lemon halves, cut side down. Cook for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
Transfer the steak slices to a serving plate. Garnish the steak with chilli flakes and extra sea salt, if needed. Drizzle the steak with the chimichurri sauce and serve with the grilled lemon.