If you have never had chimichurri sauce, this post literally has the ability change your life! Ha! That may sound a tad aggressive but that is just how strongly we feel about the delicious, fresh, herby, tangy, bursting with flavor sauce that is chimichurri! Sorry not sorry. It’s so good, you might just want to drink it! I don’t totally recommend that but also won’t judge if you choose to go down that path. So, for this recipe, we paired the sauce with grilled shrimp. Yum! It’s also fantastic on chicken, steak or even sopped up with some crusty bread. Chimichurri is literally a cinch to make. You simply combine the fresh oregano, parsley, cilantro, basil, lime juice, jalapeño, shallot, garlic, vinegar and olive oil into a food processor and pulse until it’s nicely combined. Don’t over mix it though because you do want it to have some texture.
You also don’t have to have a food processor. This recipe can be made by simply chopping up all of the ingredients and mixing in a bowl. It can be made a day ahead as it just gets better over time. The flavors really come together.
To get the shrimp going, give them a nice rinse and peel. Skewer them and place them on the grill. Spoon some of the chimichurri over the shrimp and grill for about 3 minutes on each side. Just cook until they are not opaque and a nice pink color. Remove from the grill and serve with the remaining sauce.
- 1 pound wild shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 1 Tbs fresh oregano leaves chopped
- 1 C chopped flat leaf parsley
- ½ C cilantro
- 3 Tbs fresh basil
- ½ fresh jalapeno seeded and minced
- ¼ C red wine vinegar
- ½ C olive oil
- 1 Tbs minced shallots
- juice of 1 medium lime
- ¼ tsp salt
- skewer stick - preferably metal but can use wooden as well, make sure to soak for at least 30 minutes ifnusing wood.
- Using a food processor add oregano, parsley, cilantro, basil, jalapeno, vinegar, olive oil, shallots and lime juice. Pulse until broken down but not completely pureed. Add kosher salt to season. Set aside in the refrigerator - can be made up to 1 day ahead.
- Heat grill to high heat. Thread shrimp on skewers. Spoon chimichurri sauce over both sides of each shrimp.
- Grill 3 minutes per side until no longer opaque - do not overcook. Remove from grill and serve with remaining chimichurri sauce on the side.