Chimichurri is the new pesto.

WARNING. This post is all over the place. Sorry. Lots of parentheses and lots of links. But I love this stuff and I think you will too!

{picture above from The Ravenous Couple}

Have you had chimichurri sauce? I was first introduced to this amazing stuff at Texas de Brazil. Now I get it on my rice bowl at Texas de Brazil Express (we call it TBDE) at Preston and Northwest Highway, which by the way is AMAZING. I started making chimichurri at home years ago when we first made Bobby Flay’s Argentinian burger. Since then, that has been our go-to burger recipe.

You can Google chimichurri sauce and find a bajillion recipes for it. I like the one I linked to below, which is the one in Bobby Flay’s Burgers, Fries, and Shakes cookbook, but I am definitely going to try some others out. The Ravenous Couple (above) uses cilantro. Yum.

So, we made the Argentinian burgers for the 4th and we had some chimichurri sauce leftover. I tried to replicate the rice bowl we get at TBDE and it was pretty darn great. So, if you haven’t ever had chimichurri, or you have and you love it, make this rice bowl. You can be like us and make the burgers one night, then use the leftover sauce for this recipe.

Chimichurri Rice Bowl (enough for 2 bowls)

• 2 cups instant white rice
• 1/2 lb. hot italian sausage, browned and drained (you could use anything- grilled chicken, steak, etc.. I just used sausage because it is what we had in the fridge)
• 1 recipe chimichurri sauce, pre-made and at room temperature
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1/2 cup Manchego cheese, sliced into thin strips or shaved (you could use another cheese, but this is amazing and worth it. They have it at Central Market, Sams, and SuperTarget for sure.)

Pre-heat the oven to 425. Pour can of drained corn onto baking stone or cookie sheet lined with foil. Season with salt, pepper, and steak seasoning (I use Montreal Seasoning). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until corn becomes slightly browned. {BTW- this is how I make corn for everything- alone as a side, in tacos, etc. It is so good, you must try! And of course it is even better with fresh corn but who has time for that? Not me.)

While corn is roasting, brown the sausage {or other meat} and make the rice.

Fill two bowls with rice, then top with sausage, a generous amount of chimichurri sauce, corn, and cheese. Mix together and YUM.

Thoughts on chimichurri? Can’t wait to hear!