Ingredients

Method

• 2 organic sirloin or rib-eye steaks (about 250g each)
• oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the chimichurri sauce, shake the following in a screw-top jar:
• ¼ cup oil
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup red wine
• 2 crushed cloves garlic
• 1 or 2 finely chopped spring onions
• 1 small tomato, skinned and finely chopped
• 1 t paprika
• ½ t ground cumin
• ½ t chilli powder or flakes
• ½ t dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf, torn
• 1 t salt
• 2 T finely chopped Italian parsley, for adding just before serving
• green salad and fried potatoes, for serving

Method

Ingredients

Oil the steaks, but don’t season. Place on a very hot cast-iron griddle, lightly greased to prevent sticking.

Brown well on one side, then flip and brown on the other side. It should take about 4 minutes per side. Argentinians like their steaks juicy, but not rare.

Season at the table.

Add the parsley to the chimichurri sauce and serve the steaks with a bowl of chimichurri, a green salad and fried potatoes.

Cook’s notes: The sauce doesn’t have to be hot at all. Freshly ground black pepper can be used instead of chilli. Or it can be very hot, in which case double the amount of chilli used. If you like, add some chopped sweet red pepper as well as the tomato.

The sauce can be freshly made or prepared in advance and refrigerated for a few days. It makes a generous amount, about 375ml (1½ cups), and is also great with grilled fish, chicken or lamb.
Per serving: 4392.7kJ, 68.6g protein, 81.8g fat, 2.7g carbs

TASTE’s take:

This is an easy method of home cooking, but, of course, the steaks will be even more fabulous barbecued over an open wood fire (asado). You can use big thick steaks, known as bifes (bife de lomo is Argentina’s prime cut), or thin churrascos, in which case two or more are served per person.

French bread with these thin, chargrilled steaks or sausages is the street food of Argentina. It’s a real treat – cheap and delicious. The steaks are not marinated or even salted, but seasoned at the table. The sauce, which comes in dozens of variations, is served on the side.