Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Cilantro-Green Chile Chimichurri : IHCC

"Green, Green, Green, Is Everything I'm Wearing" is this week's theme over at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), where we are cooking from Rick Bayless's recipes. One thing I've noticed is that, Mexican food, besides using lots of chilis like poblanos and serranos, they love using coriander, not that I mind, I love corianders! And is it Mexican style of cooking or just Rick Bayless's own style, I find that he loves to roast his garlic and chilies before using them in most recipes. Which is just fine with me, as I really like the roasted aroma of both the garlic and chilies, there's an earthy smell to them when roasted, which I find really nice and delicious! 



So what do I make that is green, green, green? A fabulous Cilantro-Green Chile Chimichurri/Pesto!



A mixture of fresh coriander leaves and fresh parsley, roasted garlic and roasted serrano chili. I do not have green serrano chili, but I always have the red ones in my fridge, so I used that instead. And much as I love adding more in, I only used one chili, since my kids love pesto and they will be eating this too. The unpeeled garlic and chili are dry roasted in a skillet or heavy saucepan until they have black spots and blistered. The garlic are then peeled and the chili roughly chopped. Everything goes into the food processor, with some olive oil and seasoned with some salt. Process into a paste. I did doubled the amount of fresh coriander, I always do in almost all recipes! 



Rick Bayless suggests 2 generous teaspoons of salt! Firstly I think that is a lot of salt, so I only used 1 scant teaspoon and I find that it is already salty enough. Maybe he used Kosher Salt, but he did not mention that in his recipe, so go easy on the salt.




We had this with some toasted bread, top with Tomato and Coriander Omelete (Jamie Oliver) and a spread of the pesto on top. It was so delicious! My kids love it. The pesto is really tasty, and so healthy without any addition of cheese and no nuts at all too. At first I was curious, as most pesto have cheese and nuts, which gave great flavour to the pesto, so I wasn't sure how this is going to taste like. I was pleasantly surprised that this is just as delicious!



Yum! Definitely making this pesto again! Would be really good with chicken and seafood!



I made some crusty bread that afternoon, and  this is the dinner for both my daughter and myself! I cooked something else for the hubby and son, but my daughter and I, we had a few slices of my homemade crusty bread, sliced thinly, spread with the pesto and have it as our dinner. And I had this again the next morning for breakfast. What can I say, I totally love it! :o)


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To see what other delicious greens that the others are making from Rick Bayless's recipes, do drop by I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC).

I'm sharing this too with :
Recipe Box hosted by Bizzy Bakes


Cilantro-Green Chile Chimichuri/Pesto
(source from : Frontera, Rick Bayless)
1/2 head garlic, cloves broken apart
2 to 3 serrrano chiles
1 medium bunch cilantro, thick bottom stems cut off
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley, thick bottom stems cut off
1/2 cup olive oil
salt (to taste)

Set a dry skillet over medium heat. Lay in the unpeeled garlic cloves and chiles. Roast, turning frequently, until soft and blotchy brown in spots, about 10 minutes for the chiles and 15 minutes for the garlic. Cool until handleable, then slip the skins off the garlic, pull stems off the chiles and roughly chop (no need to remove the seeds). Place in a food processor along with the cilantro (about 1 cup if packed), parsley (about 1 cup if packed), oil and 2 generous teaspoons salt, (go easy on the salt, I only used 1 scant teaspoon). Process until nearly smooth (it will be pasty). Scrape into a storage container and refrigerate until serving time.

If you plan on saving, cover the top with a thin layer of olive oil.

26 comments:

  1. We love serranos so this sounds right up our alley!

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  2. Must give this a try. Love the vibrant color!

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  3. Your pesto looks amazing! And you make it sound so simple too... I always thought its quite hard to make but reading this post makes me think I can do it also!

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  4. I've been planning of making pesto for months but haven't get around on making it :P :D Love the vibrant color and I'm sure it tastes really really good ;D Will try this recipe sometime !

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  5. Sounds good, looks good! Inviting pesto dear!

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  6. My son made some pesto with cashew nuts and basil last weekend and used it on chicken..it was delicious! I used the balance for spaghetti....I am totally loving pesto now! Will give this simple pesto a try when I get all the ingredients. Looks and sounds much healthier!

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  7. I love this green recipe. So pleasant and delicious.

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  8. YOur pesto is really looking fresh green! maybe becos you doubled that coriander, this sounds like a great dip for our chinese steamed chicken also!( pak cham kai )

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  9. Looks yummy :D

    XoXo
    http://abudhabifood.blogspot.com

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  10. What a delicious version of pesto and so beautiful and bright green. I love the color of this - the basil pestos tend to turn dark so quickly.

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  11. eileen@hundred eighty degreesThursday, August 02, 2012

    beautiful greenish dish, love the colour!

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  12. oh i have about a million things I would love to put this one! Love it

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  13. Sounds & looks fabulous! Love the extra coriander added coz I LOVE coriander , I mean fresh ones! Agreed with Lena, this will be great with pak cham kai! Gotta try with it soon! :)

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  14. this one really packed with a big yum.

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  15. That is a lovely green color for the chimichurri. I am sure it is a tasty accompaniment with all kinds of food.

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  16. Una salsa verde hermosa me encanta,abrazos hugs,hugs.

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  17. Oh my gosh, a loaf of homemade bread along with some of this emerald green chimichurri would make me VERY happy. Sounds SO delicious. And I'm a huge fan of roasting my garlic and chiles, as well...such a beautiful earthy scent and taste!

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  18. Joyce, this is definitely a more refreshing & healthier version of pesto!

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  19. What a lovely color,and I can almost smell the earthiness of the cilantro and roasted garlic!! Serious yumminess!

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  20. My guys don't like cilantro, but I sure do. The color is fantastic. So is that shot of the bread!

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  21. Gorgeous. I love all kinds of pestos, so I'm definitely going to give this a try. I think I can pretty much manage all the ingredients too!!

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  22. It's looks beautiful, green, and very herbaceous. I think you had a great idea to serve it up on bread with the omelette.

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  23. You definitely win for greenest green dish! What a gloriously verdant sauce. Delicious!

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  24. Wow, this looks delicious! I never thought of putting this on bread, but what a great idea, thanks Joy.

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  25. So pretty and green--I love the combination with the omelette on toast too. Great pick! ;-)

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