chimichurri

Chimichurri is an uncooked sauce used as an ingredient in cooking and as a table condiment for grilled meat. Found originally in Argentinian and Uruguayan cuisines, it has become widely adopted in most of Latin America. The sauce comes in green (chimichurri verde) and red (chimichurri rojo) varieties. It is made of finely chopped parsley, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano and vinegar or lemon juice. It is similar to Moroccan chermoula. Etymology The name may be a variant of Spanish chirriburri 'hubbub', ultimately perhaps from Basque zurrumurru 'noise, rumor'. Another theory connects it to Basque tximitxurri 'hodgepodge', 'mixture of several things in no particular order'; many Basques settled in Argentina in the 19th century. Various, almost certainly false etymologies purport to explain the name as a corruption of English words, most commonly "Jimmy['s] Curry", "Jimmy McCurry", or "gimme curry", but no contemporary documentation of any of these stories has been found.