Chimichurri goes wintry
This recipe is brought to you by the shopper at Whole Foods who sent me two gigantic bunches of flat leaf parsley instead of cilantro when I had a plan to make cilantro chutney. Seriously, y'all, I've never seen so much parsley at once. I like parsley all right - it's nice mixed into hot, garlicky pasta or you know...just generally as a garnish that brightens up the dish a little bit. But little snips of parsley weren't going to cut it (ha), so I decided to do what I do best: make a sauce.
Now, I know that chimichurri uses mostly parsley, but this version winters it up a little bit by adding fresh rosemary and gets its tang from lemon juice instead of the traditional red wine vinegar. I was tempted to call it a pistou, but that's really just reserved for basil. Yes, I spent some time researching herb-based sauces (did you know that traditional chimichurri uses oregano? I always thought it had cilantro, but no.) to decide what I'd made, after I'd made it. So, in the end I've decided to go with...Winter Chimichurri.
This bright and tangy sauce is excellent on roasted potatoes, but it's also nice mixed into pasta (with a little extra garlic and olive oil), and I can see it being a tasty topping to tofu scramble, sautéed kale, or mixed in to plain hummus for a little extra zip.
Winter Chimichurri
1.5 bunches flat leaf parsley
leaves from 3 sprigs rosemary
2 cloves garlic
2 lemons, juiced
1/3 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Put it into a blender and blenderize it! You might add more olive oil if you need to for a smooth consistency.
Honestly, it's a simple little recipe, but who among us hasn't wondered what on earth to do with the rest of that giant bunch of parsley that you only need part of? This way, you just buy two, and do this with the rest. Refrigerates well, for at least a week, or you can freeze it to thaw and use later.
The rosemary in this gives it a comforting vibe that does work particularly well with potatoes.
I like to buy these little bags of colorful potatoes for roasting sometimes. Aren't they cute? You can also use any waxy potato (red, yellow, whatever). Is it weird that I don't like russet potatoes for roasting? Something about their texture is like...only good for mashed potatoes or French fries, in my opinion.
Roast up a bunch of potatoes (coat in oil, salt, and pepper, then it's 425°F for 25-8 minutes, stirring about 20 minutes in) to eat with your breakfast and drizzle this sauce over, or follow my lead and serve with marinated, baked tofu and some sautéed spinach. And before you get all 'potatoes aren't healthy', remember that they have more potassium than bananas, enjoy your life for a minute, and 'indulge' in a dang potato already.
For the best sautéed spinach, heat up a little olive oil in a pan and then briefly sizzle more garlic than you would think is a reasonable amount, then add spinach (one of those big containers of baby spinach makes about 4 servings of sautéed spinach), sprinkle with a little salt and crushed red pepper, cover the pan. Once the spinach wilts down a little (pictured), stir until cooked evenly. Take off the heat while it's still bright green!