Mercury Retrograde : Chimichurri

Chay Wike

Mercury is officially in retrograde which means no new tricks for this mystical home cook. I used to dread this planetary phase. I was convinced that nothing good would come of it and that the world would grind to a screeching halt. It took me years to realize that perhaps the universe was in fact conspiring on our behalf, forcing us to slow down.  

Maybe a shift in perspective could change the way I used these few weeks, every couple of months, to my advantage.  

I found that embracing this period has opened up a space filled with permission to take more time for reflection, revision, repair, and retreat. A stay-cation of sorts. 

Go backwards.  Revisit an unfinished project, cancel plans, clean out your closet, call a blast from the past, or make the same old chimichurri recipe you’ve been making for years. This isn’t the time to start new adventures. 

On that note, for the next few weeks, I’ll be posting more food from the archives of my kitchen sleeve.

With love,

Chay

RECIPE

Chimichurri

Vegan, Gluten Free

Serves 2-4

Notes : I always double or triple this recipe for a crowd. It keeps well in the fridge tightly covered for a few days and just needs to be brought back to room temperature to loosen up the oil. 

Also, a food processor is really helpful here if you have one. If not, you’ll need to finely mince the parsley and garlic by hand.

Serve this sauce spooned over salmon, steak, chicken, roasted vegetables, tofu, rice, or salad. Fold it into omelettes or drizzle over poached eggs. It’s delicious with almost EVERYTHING.

  • 1 large head of parsley

  • 1 large clove of garlic

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

  • 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave (honey can be too thick and not incorporate well)

  • Juice of half a lemon

  • ¾ cup of olive oil

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Hold the bunch of parsley together and rinse under cold water in the sink. Give it a good shake and take the whole bunch to the cutting board. 

Chop off the stems from the base in one hack. It’s ok if there’s still some stems that carry up into the leaves. As long as the bulk of them are removed. 

Toss all if this into the food processor along with the clove of garlic. Pulse together until both are finely minced.  Scrape everything out with a rubber spatula into a medium size mixing bowl (I prefer to mix by hand from this point on as the sauce has a nicer texture this way. Otherwise I find it gets foamy in the food processor).

Add the oregano, apple cider vinegar, lemon, maple syrup, and a generous dash of salt and fresh pepper. Mix this together first with a spoon then slowly drizzle in the olive oil. You can whisk too if you prefer.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Sometimes I add more maple syrup to balance out the acid or more olive oil to loosen it up.