Cilantro Pesto and Chimicurri

Only a weekly basis I seem to hit a “wall” when it comes to creativity in the kitchen. While I believe that natural flavors of the meat or veg should be the star, sometimes you’d like to turn to a condiment to ramps up those flavors. Most store bought sauces and condiments are full of HFCS, Salt, Soy Proteins and so many chemicals that should NOT be put into your body. So I’ve decided to share 2 of my favorite sauces that i use on a regular basis.
(You will need a food processor, a blender or an emulsion/stick blender)

Cilantro Pesto-

1 bu. Cilantro
4 oz almonds, raw/blanched
1/2 serrano, remove seeds
1 jalapeno, remove seeds
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup of Olive oil
S/P to taste

Toast the almonds in a dry pan until they get some color, you should smell the almond essence.
Cut the stems off cilantro, no need to be exact, some stem is fine.
Place everything except the oil into the food processor. Pulse until chunky. Continue to pulse while adding the Olive oil slowly.
Store in a airtight jar in fridge overnight to let the flavors marry. use within 2 days.
I like to brush this on chicken/shrimp/fish before I put them on the grill.

****If you allow dairy in your diet, you can cut the pesto with equal amounts of cottage cheese and use it as a dip for raw veggies***

Chimichurri

1 large bunch of Italian Flat leaf parsley
1 head of garlic, peeled and cloves rough chopped.
Juice of one lemon
2oz. White wine vinegar
1/8 tsp of dried oregano
1/2 tsp of dried red chile flake
1 cup of Olive Oil

Blend everything except the Olive Oil, should be chunky. With the blender on slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream until emulsified. Store in an airtight jar, and let stand overnight to have the flavors marry.

This is great on red meats: beef, bison, elk, you name it.

Also is a nice marinade for grilled veg.

Post comments on how your pesto and chimichurri turned out for you.