What's for Dinner? Roasted Lemon Salmon with Chicago River Chimichurri Sauce

By Caitlin Klein in Food on Mar 18, 2011 4:00PM

Carry your St. Patrick's fever into the weekend and try this ultimate "green" sauce - chimichurri. Chimichurri is a versatile condiment that can be used as either a marinade or a sauce. Its bright Kelley green color matches the Chicago River - this sauce should really put you in the mood for spring. The sharp bite of raw garlic packs a punch for your meat or fish. In this recipe, we used the chimichurri as a sauce for roasted salmon filets. Try marinating chicken or beef in the chimichurri before throwing it on a hot grill. Money.

Chicagoist’s Roasted Lemon Salmon with Green River Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients (for 2)
2 salmon filets
Olive oil, for rubbing
3-4 lemon slices
Salt and freshly ground cracked black pepper
1 cup parsley, loosely packed
1 cup cilantro, loosely packed
3 garlic cloves, peeled
Juice of ½ a lemon
½ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt

Directions:
Salmon:
Preheat the oven to 375. Rub both salmon filets with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Lay lemon slices atop the salmon. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until salmon is no longer dark pink throughout.

Chumichurri:
Lightly chop the parsley and cilantro. In a food processor or blender, add together the parsley, cilantro, garlic cloves, and lemon juice. Keep a spatula handy. Puree the ingredients together. The first time, everything will stick to the sides of the food processor. Using your spatula, push everything to the bottom. Add half the olive oil and puree again. Scrape the sides with the spatula and add the remaining olive oil. Puree a third time. If the consistency is still too chunky and not smooth enough for your taste, slowly add olive oil and puree until your sauce is smoother. Stir in salt and serve over the salmon.