Argentinians know a thing or two about steak, and they eat it slathered in chimichurri, so you know it’s going to be good. Let’s serve it on golden potatoes tonight.
Chimichurri is one of those sauces that just absolutely lifts a dish. It’s the perfect combination of salty and sour, with a little bit of sweet, and you’ll want to make it every time you think about cooking a steak. I remember trying it in Argentina, slathered over some perfectly cooked steak with a big glass of red, and I have to say, that’s LIVING.
So let’s bring some of that magic to your dinner tonight and make perfectly seared steak with chimichurri, served on golden potatoes, red onion and broccolini.
What is Chimichurri steak sauce made of?
Chimichurri sauce is made by blitzing together parsley, garlic, dried oregano, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. This sounds simple, but once you get the ratios right, a wonderful alchemy happens and you’ve got an irresistible sauce.
What does Steak and Chimichurri go with?
Tonight we’re serving it on a bed of golden roast potatoes - we’re going to slice these into rounds and get them baking in the oven while we’re preparing the sauce and steak. These will be part of a salad with tomatoes which will give us some acidity, fine slices of red onion for sweetness, broccolini and radish for some slightly bitter crunch.
How to get a good sear on your steak?
Here are a few things you can do to get a good sear on your steak.
- First, take your steak out of the fridge as soon as you know you’re going to cook it - we want it at room temperature. This will help it cook evenly at a high heat.
- Pat your steak dry to remove excess moisture.
- Drizzle over some olive oil and let it rest until it’s time to cook it. We’ll oil the meat, rather than the pan, so that we don’t “fry” the meat and the oil doesn’t start to smoke / burn while the pan is heating up, because…
- We want to make sure you get your pan as hot as you can before putting the steak on.
- Don’t overcrowd your pan - you may have to cook in batches. With each piece of steak you add, the temperature of the pan will decrease, impacting your sear.
- Only turn your steak once, after about 2 minutes. This will give it time to have that sustained contact, which will give you that sear you want.
What's in Steak with Chimichurri
- Steak - use rump, sirloin or flank
- Chimichurri - parsley, garlic, dried oregano, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper
- Salad - large potatoes, red onion, broccolini, radish, tomatoes and baby spinach and baby rocket.
Top tip
Chimichurri can have a very intense garlic flavour, which I love, but if you’re after a bit more subtlety, you can soften that taste by cooking your garlic cloves in the oven with the potatoes until it is time to make the sauce. Just a few minutes will take the edge off the taste.
Substitutions
- Alternative proteins - Chimichurri also goes really well with chicken and fish, so you can swap those out if you like.
- Vegetarian - Swap steak for portobello mushrooms or cauliflower steaks, or use a plant-based mince.
- Dairy Free - This recipe is dairy free.
- Gluten Free - This recipe is gluten free.
Kid-Friendly Variations
- Serve kids slices of steak with plain tomatoes, potato and broccolini.
- Skip the chimichurri sauce.
- Skip red onion, rocket and baby spinach.
Equipment
You will need an oven, a baking tray, a small blender or food processor, a frying pan, a stovetop.
More Steak Recipes
If you love steak, you should try
- Crying Tiger (my version)
- Steak with Everything Sauce
- Steak Salad with Honey Roast Carrots
- The BEST Philly Cheesesteak Recipe
- Beef Banh Mi
Recipe
Steak with Chimichurri
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking tray
- Small blender or food processor
- Frying pan
- Stovetop
Ingredients
- 500 g steak
- 1 tablespoon olive oil ⅓ cup total for the recipe
- 2 potatoes large
- 2 bunches broccolini
- 1 red onion
- 4 radish
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil ⅓ cup total for the recipe
- 1 bunch parsley
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ cup olive oil ⅓ cup total for the recipe
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 250 g mixed baby tomatoes heirloom pref.
- 120 g baby rocket and spinach mix
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Place steak in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper, and set aside to bring to room temperature.500 g steak, 1 tablespoon olive oil, Salt and pepper
- Slice potato into thin slices (3-5 mm). Trim broccolini and discard ends. Finely slice red onion lengthwise into thin wedges. Thinly slice radishes (about 1 mm). Press garlic with the flat of your knife to crush and peel it.2 potatoes, 2 bunches broccolini, 1 red onion, 4 radish, 2 cloves garlic
- Lay potato slices and red onion wedges on the baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place in the oven for 10 minutes.TIP: You can also add garlic to the oven now for just a couple of minutes, which will soften its flavour in the chimichurri.2 potatoes, 1 red onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, Salt and pepper
- Place parsley, garlic, dried oregano, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper in a small blender or food processor and blitz until you have a chunky salsa. Taste and then season as needed.2 cloves garlic, 1 bunch parsley, 2 teaspoon dried oregano, ¼ cup olive oil, 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar, Salt and pepper
- Remove tray from the oven, turn potatoes and add tomatoes and broccolini. Return to the oven for 10 minutes.Reserve raw tomatoes for your child’s plate now if preferred.250 g mixed baby tomatoes, 2 bunches broccolini
- Place a frying pan on high and once the pan is very hot, cook steaks for 2-3 minutes each side, as you prefer. Set aside to rest.
- Serve kids their portion of potato, broccolini and tomatoes if not already done.On a large serving dish create a bed of rocket, then layer remaining potatoes, tomatoes, broccolini and red onion and radishes.120 g baby rocket and spinach mix, 4 radish
- Slice steak. To serve kids, add to their plates with potato, broccolini and tomatoes.To serve adults, lay steak over salad and spoon over chimichurri. You may have extra chimichurri which you can cover in a layer of oil and store in the fridge for a week.
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