Chimichurri Venison Pesto Pasta

Chimichurri (sometimes misspelled as chimichuri) is an Argentine dipping sauce.  Some have  said that “Argentinians put it on everything.”  We have discovered that it goes great on pasta, in place of a pesto sauce.  Fry up a few strips of deer (venison) steak and serve on top of the pasta and pesto, with some grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

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Here is my personal favorite recipe for authentic chimichurri sauce. You can mix it all together and blitz it in a blender, but I prefer to go through a 3-step process while preparing the sauce, if you have a little time while cooking the steaks and pasta.

For the sauce:

1/2 Cup Olive Oil (or for a more mellow flavor use a neutral flavored oil such as avocado)
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar (or we like sushi vinegar)
1/4 Cup water
1 small bunch flat leaf-parsley, roughly chopped (should equal about 1/2 cup)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon coarse salt
1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
hot red pepper chili flakes to taste

And then you will need:

1 lb. cooked pasta

1 lb of steak, cooked and cut across the grain into fajita type strips.

Salt, pepper and parmesan cheese for finishing.

Instructions

Add all of the sauce ingredients except the oil and vinegar into an electric blender and toss well to make sure that the salt is spread evenly around the ingredients. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Next add the vinegar and water. Mix well. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Finally add the oil and mix well in an electric blender. Make sure that the liquids cover the rest of the ingredients. If not add equal parts of oil, water, and vinegar until they are covered at least by a quarter of an inch. Transfer to a non-reactive clean bowl or jar that can be covered. Make sure to cover well. Place in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to blend overnight. For better results prepare at least 2 or 3 days ahead of time. If refrigerated, allow sauce to sit at room temperature for at least an hour or until the oil (if congealed) thins out, before serving.

Pour over 1 pound of cooked thick noodles, such as fettuccine (but really any noodle will work fine) and slice up some venison or beef steak into strips.   Salt, pepper and parmesan cheese top off the dish.