Barbecued Galician Sirloin Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

This traditional chimichurri recipe is incredibly versatile. Serve it over beautifully charred steaks or as a sauce for a mixed grill. It’s also perfect with grilled chicken or seared tuna. The origin of the name ‘chimichurri’ is a little less clear. Food historians tend to agree that chimichurri was invented by cowboys or gauchos to give flavour to the meat they cooked over open fires out on the prairies. As for the origin of the word, one story says that the word chimichurri comes from the name of an Irish or Englishman who is rumoured to have joined in the fight for Argentina’s independence. His name Jimmy Curry was difficult for the Argentinians to pronounce; hence his sauce became known as chimichurri.  A more convincing story suggests that the name comes from the Basque tximitxurri, which translates to ‘a mixture of several things in no particular order’ thanks to Basque settlers who arrived in Argentina in the 19th century.