We are in the middle of the first week of February. This means that the kids have been at school for roughly about a week and I am already running out of lunchbox and after school snack ideas. To fix that, I have come up with a very fun idea. Every morning I meal prep just one thing for about 5-10 minutes. And today, it is a gorgeous and green Chimichurri sauce.
Meal Prep Just One Thing.
I have been meal prepping now for about 3-4 years and it has seriously changed my life. I am an advanced meal prepper (yes, it is a self-proclaimed title after spending a few hundred hours meal prepping). But when I started, I was a total amateur. I was also uninspired with a tendency to wander in my head. If I had come up with the "Meal Prep Just One Thing" idea back then, my life would have been a lot easier.
The principle of Meal Prep Just One Thing is simple. It is also quite literal. Every day at a time that suits you, meal prep just one thing. It could be chopping up a whole head of cabbage and storing in boxes or cooking a batch of quinoa or spiralizing/grating a bag full of zucchinis or sweet potato or mixing a batch of overnight oats and popping in the fridge. When you meal prep just one thing every day, you build up a steady supply of delicious sauces, condiments, chopped veggies, chia puddings, smoothie packs and ready-to-go breakfasts that will make healthy eating much easier.
A Good Green Chimichurri Sauce That Goes With Everything!
The most rewarding meal prep is making something in a little food processor. Like pesto or chutney or sauce. The meal prep should take you a maximum of 10 minutes and no more. And that is why this Chimichurri Sauce is perfect for budding meal preppers or just anyone really. You can either make it in a small food processor or just chop and mix by hand. It is easy, brimming with green goodness and promises big punchy flavours.
I love this Chimichurri sauce on so many things. It is a refreshing change from pesto and can be pretty much used like a pesto would be used. Argentinian in origin and traditionally used to spoon over grilled or roasted meat, a chimichurri sauce would be absolutely delicious on roasted veggies. Think perfectly roasted cauliflower or sweet potato with a generous dousing of this super green textural sauce. Or crispy smashed roasted potatoes drizzled with this green goodness. YUM!
Same same but different.
There are two ways of making this Chimichurri sauce. The traditional and more textural version (the recipe below) or a feeling-lazy version (see footnotes). In the traditional version, you would roughly chop the herbs and mince/chop the garlic and ONLY pulse a few times in the food processor before scooping into a bowl and adding the oil. In this version, the finely chopped bits of the herbs literally swim in the olive oil. This is great as a dip. In the feeling-lazy version of the chimichurri sauce, you would add everything to the food processor (reducing the oil to 1/3rd cup) and blitz it all into a smooth sauce. This is great for drizzling over things or for creating salad dressings.
So although today's recipe is not technically a vegetarian main or side, it will definitely inspire you to eat more veggies! In the coming days, I will show you all the wonderful vegetarian recipes you can use this sauce in. Make this chimichurri sauce and if you love it, please leave me your feedback in the comments and ratings below. Don't forget to tag me on Instagram @cookrepublic when you share pictures of your chimichurri sauce.
Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh parsley, (1 bunch)
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves, (or 1 tablespoon dried oregano)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Place parsley, oregano, garlic, apple cider vinegar and chilli flakes in the bowl of a small food processor with 2 tablespoons of the oil.
- Pulse 8-10 times until coarsely chopped. Scoop into a bowl. Add salt, pepper and remaining oil. Mix well. Serve immediately or store in an air-tight glass jar in the fridge for up to a week.
this looks' great and i need to meal prep more 🙂
Hello Sneh and thanks ! I have actually followed the 'one thing every day' agenda in many facets of my life, but not really in food. Methinks I'll try - it makes so much sense. Absolutely love chimichurri sauce and do like it traditional as yours is ! If everything but the kitchen sink is included it does not deserve the name or its proud origin. Shall make some tomorrow the traditional way but see myself alternating that with the smooth version . . . best to your husband and yourself . . .hope you are enjoying the somewhat cooler days and some wet from the heavens . . .
Thanks for your lovely message Eha! Nicky is doing much better, getting ready for the next surgery. And the weather has been such a joy these past two days. I hope you are enjoying the cool weather too. You know, I haven't tried the "one thing every day" in my daily life but it sounds like it could be life-changing. Thanks for the inspiration, I am going to adopt that mantra. x