Churrasco & chimichurri

Before you start

• a griddle, a barbecue or the heaviest pan you have
• the chimichurri is better made an hour ahead

Ingredients

Serves 2 · dimmer marks are storecupboard

• 350gbeef sirloin — picanha, sirloin cap or skirt
• 4 tbspolive oil
• 1 bunchflat parsley
• 4garlic cloves
• 2 tbspcane vinegar
• 1 tbspdried oregano
• 1 tspchilli flakes
• to tastesalt

Method

7 steps

1. chop · 10m

   Parsley and garlic chopped fine by hand — properly fine, and with a sharp knife so the leaves are cut rather than crushed.

2. fold · 4m

   Stirred together with the oregano, chilli, vinegar, a teaspoon of salt and the olive oil. It should be loose and pourable, not a paste.

3. rest · 1 hour walk away

   An hour at room temperature. The garlic and oregano need that long to soften into the oil; used straight away it tastes of raw garlic and little else.

4. finish · 15m walk away

   Beef patted dry and salted generously on both sides, then left out while the grill heats.

5. grill · 10m

   Onto a properly hot grill, fat side down first if there is a fat cap, and left alone until it lifts cleanly and is well marked before turning. Around four minutes a side for a thick piece.

6. rest · 10m walk away

   Rested on a warm plate for at least as long as it cooked.

7. finish · 3m

   Sliced thin ACROSS the grain — look at which way the fibres run and cut at right angles to them, because the same steak cut the other way is chewy however well it was grilled — and the chimichurri spooned over.