I still remember the first time I had this sauce. My husband and I had just moved to Houston from New Orleans. We didn’t know many people yet, and my husband’s friend’s mom invited us all over for dinner. She made an entire beef tenderloin! I had never seen one before and didn’t know what it was. I thought it was just a roast, and simply thought it the best roast I had ever eaten. She served it with this incredible green, herby sauce. It was the perfect complement to the beef, and unlike anything I had ever had with red meat before. I was used to a gravy or a similar heavy sauce. This bright, acidic flavor punch was such a lift from the savory beef that it blew my mind. Years later, still thinking about the sauce and wanting to try my hand at a beef tenderloin, I messaged the mom for the recipe. It was just as delicious and vibrant as I remember. I’ve adapted it to make it easier for little hands in the kitchen.

Serve this sauce with any grilled meat. It is also nice with roasted veggies, stirred into pasta, mixed into rice, or stirred into yogurt as a yummy dip. We did a taste off of green herby sauces to see which we liked best. This is chimichurri, pesto, and gremolata all mixed with farfalle pasta.

I love the mix of herbs in this recipe. I often see just chimichurri as just cilantro or a mix of cilantro and parsley, but the oregano really balances is out, in my opinion. If you can’t find fresh oregano, you can leave it out. Remember to store your herbs like a flower bouquet in a glass of water in the fridge (if you have space). If they start to wilt in your crisper drawer, you can also revive them by sticking them in a glass of water, roots down, the day before you want to use them.

My kids loved helping pick the leaves off the mountain of herbs we used for this recipe. It is a prefect task for anyone 2 and older. Have a pile of herbs on a plate or cutting board, then an empty plate for the discard stems, then a plate or bowl for the leaves you want them to pick off. Be sure to wash and dry the herbs first. And wash little hands before they help in the kitchen. Happy cooking!

Chimichurri

Ingredients

1 shallot

1 jalapeno

3 cloves garlic

½ cup fresh cilantro 

¼ cup fresh parsley (Italian)

2 Tablespoons fresh oregano 

½ cup red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Peel and very finely dice shallot. 
2. Wash and slice off top of jalapeno (stem end) so that you can see inside. Slice off on side of jalapeno, avoid the white pith. Finely dice the piece of jalapeno you sliced off. If you have food safe disposable gloves, use them for this task.
3. Peel and mince garlic. 
4. Wash and chop cilantro, parsley, and oregano.
5. In a medium bowl, mix together the red wine vinegar and salt. Add your shallot, jalapeno, and garlic and let it macerate (macerate just means to let it sit in the bowl for a little while. This helps the garlic and jalapeno not be so intense raw). 
6. Add the herbs and olive oil to your vinegar and aromatics (shallot, garlic, and jalapeno). 
7. Stir well and serve with roasted meat, roasted vegetables, or grains. 

Notes: 

Growing herbs is easy! Try growing cilantro and parsley to make this recipe inexpensive. Anytime you have an abundance of herbs, a green sauce is there to help.