Gushy reviews of recipes online generally give me pause. The food rarely lives up to the hype.
But after serving this Epicurious.com recipe for flank steak and chimichurri toasts at a holiday party – and after listening to guest after guest rave about it – I had to admit, this reviewer was right.
“Chimichurri is the greatest condiment known to man,” the person wrote. “You could enjoy rank roadkill if there was chimichurri on it.”
Not the most appetizing thought, but the sentiment is spot on. And not only is this dish breathtakingly good, it also comfortably feeds a crowd and is fast and easy to assemble. In other words, it’s the perfect party food.
We usually define quick recipes as those taking under 30 minutes to prepare. This one takes 1 1/2 hours, but I let it slide because the total prep is just 30 minutes and is broken up into several small chunks.
You begin by making the sauce and marinating the steaks – 10 minutes tops. The meat then sits for an hour or a day. You decide. When you’re ready to serve, you toast the bread – another 5 minutes.
Broiling the steaks takes less than 10 minutes, and assembly another 5 minutes. Even better, this dish can stand at room temperature for 2 hours, which means you can plate it just before your guests arrive and have it waiting for them.
Steak and chimichurri toasts
1cup packed fresh parsley
3/4cup olive oil, plus additional for brushing the toasts
3tablespoons red wine vinegar
2tablespoons dried oregano
2teaspoons ground cumin
Salt
2garlic cloves, minced
1/2teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
21-pound pieces flank steak
Freshly ground black pepper
116-ounce thin French-bread baguette, cut into 40 slices
To make the chimichurri sauce, in a food processor combine the parsley, 3/4 cup olive oil, vinegar, oregano, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, garlic and crushed red pepper. Process until smooth, then set aside.
Place the steaks in a large glass baking dish, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush about 2 tablespoons chimichurri sauce over the steaks, then refrigerate the remaining sauce. Cover the steaks with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to a day).
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place the bread slices on a large baking sheet, then brush them lightly with olive oil. Bake the bread until just firm, about 5 minutes. Transfer to large platter.
Preheat the broiler.
Transfer the steaks to a rimmed baking sheet. Broil until cooked to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium.
Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes. Cut each steak in half along the grain. Cut each half crosswise against the grain into 10 slices. Top each bread slice with 1 piece of meat and a bit of chimichurri sauce.
Arrange the toasts on a platter and spoon remaining sauce into small bowl and place in the center of the platter. Serve warm or let stand up to 2 hours at room temperature.
Makes 40 toasts.
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