There is a recipe in our house that started as something I made for Chris and turned into the sauce I reach for on everything. Grilled vegetables, charred corn, sliced heirloom tomatoes, white beans, shrimp. If it comes off the grill or out of a hot pan this summer, it probably gets chimichurri on it.
Classic chimichurri is parsley, garlic, and red wine vinegar. This version keeps that backbone and opens it up with everything that is actually thriving in the garden right now: dill, basil, chives, and cilantro. It is greener and more aromatic than the Argentine original and it does exactly what a good chimichurri should do to a seared steak: cut the richness, wake up the crust, and make the whole plate taste like summer.
The technique matters here. There are two or three steps that separate genuinely great chimichurri from a muddy green sauce and once you know them you will never go back.
Why This Is a Fab Four Plate
Chimichurri is not just a condiment. It is a genuinely smart nutritional addition to any grilled protein and here is why.
Protein: The steak is the anchor. Quality grass-fed beef delivers a complete amino acid profile alongside heme iron, zinc, B12, and naturally occurring collagen. It is the most bioavailable protein source available and paired with a Fab Four plate it keeps you full and satisfied for hours.
Fat: A generous pour of extra virgin olive oil is doing real nutritional work here. Monounsaturated fat slows gastric emptying, supports fat-soluble vitamin absorption, and brings significant antioxidant compounds to the plate. This is not dressing. It is a functional fat source.
Fiber: Fresh herbs are one of the most nutrient-dense things by weight in the kitchen. Parsley alone is a significant source of vitamin K. The whole herb mix delivers a wide range of plant polyphenols that support gut health, reduce inflammation, and protect cells from oxidative stress. Pair the steak with grilled zucchini, charred corn, or a big tomato and greens salad and the fiber is handled completely.
Greens: Parsley, cilantro, basil, dill, and chives are not garnish. They are functional. Cilantro supports natural detox pathways, basil brings anti-inflammatory compounds, and parsley is one of the most micronutrient-dense herbs available. The olive oil helps your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants from every herb in the sauce.
Pairing With Chris's Steak
Chimichurri and steak are one of those combinations that just makes sense. The bright acidity of the sauce cuts through the richness of a perfectly seared crust, the herbs wake up every bite, and the olive oil carries all of it together in a way that makes the whole plate taste like something you would order at a restaurant and never be able to recreate at home. Until now.
His method and this sauce dovetail almost perfectly:
- 45 minutes before: Pull steaks out to reach room temperature. Start the chimichurri now. Bloom the base and chop the herbs.
- 15 minutes before: Chimichurri is resting. Salt and pepper the steaks generously on both sides. Get the pan or grill screaming hot.
- 5 minutes before: Sear both sides. Pull and let rest 5 to 10 minutes on a cutting board.
- At the table: Stir the basil and lemon into the chimichurri. Slice the steak on the bias.
Three things at the finish:
- Never put chimichurri in the hot pan. The heat cooks the herbs, kills the acid, and you lose the whole point. It is a finishing sauce, always spooned on cold.
- Pour the board juices back over the sliced steak before you spoon on the sauce. That is free flavor.
- Put extra on the table in a small bowl. Everyone will want more than you planned for.
Other Ways to Serve It
Peak-summer plates that want the same sauce:
- Grilledhrimp, salmon or chicken
- Grilled zucchini and summer squash, cut in planks lengthwise
- Charred corn cut off the cob and tossed with a spoonful of chimichurri
- Sliced heirloom tomatoes with flaky salt, let them sit next to the steak and catch the runoff
- Blistered shishito or padrón peppers
- White beans, warm, dressed with the leftover sauce
Variations + Storage Tips
Flavor Variations:
- Softer and more herb-forward: Swap the red wine vinegar for champagne or white wine vinegar. Less sharp, lets the dill and basil come further forward.
- A little sweetness: Add one finely diced shallot to the bloom step in place of one garlic clove.
- Smoky: Half teaspoon smoked paprika stirred into the base.
- Thinner for drizzling: Add olive oil one tablespoon at a time until it pours off the spoon in a stream.
How to Store:
- Refrigerator: 5 days in a sealed jar. The olive oil will solidify so pull it out 20 minutes before serving and stir. The herbs darken after day one but the flavor deepens.
- Freezer: Portion into an ice cube tray, freeze, then transfer to a bag. Keeps 3 months. Drop a cube onto anything hot off the grill.
- Make-ahead note: If you are prepping more than a day out, build the sauce without the basil, lemon, and chives, then stir those in fresh the day you serve.
