Setting the Scene: When I want something super flavorful, not too complicated, and absolutely satisfying, this steak and chimichurri sandwich is my go-to. I load the bread with heaping spoonfuls of chimichurri where the primary ingredient is parsley, so I even tell myself its basically like I am eating a salad (you’re welcome to tell yourself this too!)
My love for chimichurri started on our honeymoon to Buenos Aires (whole blog post about that trip here!). The parsley-based sauce can be made in many ways (and actually, in Buenos Aries, it was very olive-oil heavy, I am guessing because of the region’s huge Italian influence) but this rendition is by far my favorite. It is a little bit thicker than normal, heavy on the parsley, and a tad bit spicy from the garlic and onion. Of course, add or subtract ingredients to suit your own taste buds, but here is my very favorite chimichurri recipe.
Note: The taste of the sauce can really vary depending on the potency of the onion and garlic, as well as on if the onion is extra watery. You can always add more parsley and cumin to even out the flavor. I usually start with the recipe below, and then taste it and add more spice, olive oil, or other ingredients as needed to even out the flavor.
Ingredients: For the Chimichurri 2 large heads of flat-leaf Italian parsley (a LOT of parsley!) 1 small yellow onion 4 large garlic cloves (sometimes I go a bit crazy here…) 1 large lemon (zest and juice) 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar ¾ teaspoon ground cumin ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes ½ cup extra virgin olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For the Steak Sandwich Flank steak (skirt steak works too, but flank is better) Ciabatta rolls Freshly ground salt and pepper Olive oil, for cooking
Instructions:
For the Chimichurri
Pull of the parsley leaves from the stems. You can keep the little stems of the leaves, but remove the big stems. Sometimes I skimp on this step and just chop off the thick stems with a knife the best I can, but be warned, it does not come out the same! So grab a seat, take the time, and start plucking off those leaves. Place washed parsley leaves in a large food processer.
Peel and roughly chop the yellow onion. It is going straight in the food processer, so don’t go crazy chopping.
Peel the garlic and throw it into the food processer (no need to chop it).
Zest the lemon directly into the food processer and then juice the lemon into the food processor as well.
Add the red wine vinegar, cumin, red pepper flakes, olive oil, salt, and pepper to the food processer.
Pulse all ingredients until combined. Do a taste test. Add ingredients as needed. Continue to pulse until desired consistency.
Refrigerate while preparing the steak.
For the Steak
Generously cover the flank steak with salt and pepper on both sides. Let sit so that the salt can pull out the juices from the steak, which will create a good sear.
Heat a bit of olive oil in a large pan on medium/medium-high heat (not too hot to burn the olive oil, but hot enough to sear the steak).
Place steak on the pan and cook until desired doneness. I typically put a cover on partially covering the pan to keep the oil from sizzling everywhere causing a mess. I also usually start it on higher heat for a sear, and turn it down a bit to cook, then turn it up again when I flip the steak to the other side so that side gets seared as well.
Sandwich Assembly
When steak is cooked, remove from pan and cut against the grain into strips or bite-sized pieces. Cutting against the grain allows it to pull apart more easily when you bite into the sandwich.
Layer a generous amount of chimichurri on the ciabatta roll. (I usually eat mine like an open faced sandwich, so I will put chimichurri on both slices. My husband prefers to eat it like a sandwich with bread on the top and bottom.)
Layer with steak slices and serve (adding more chimichurri throughout dinner if you desire! I always do… haha).
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