It's akin to a chimichurri in that it has lime juice and cilantro, but the flavors can go toward the Latin or the Mediterranean, hence it's all-purpose-ness. It tastes wonderful over rice and beans, eggs, tossed over couscous or pasta and, of course, as is traditional in Argentina, slathered over grilled meats.
This sauce is super easy. The hardest part is cleaning the food processor afterwards, which is actually pretty easy. If you don't have a food processor, you can also use a mortar and pestle or molcajete to romantically coax the sauce into existence. You can also simply chop everything finely and mix/mash it together with a fork. No rules y'all. Bottom line, these kinds of raw sauces/pestos are super easy and should not be avoided. They add a fresh, light quality to any dish you serve them with and they are a super-food level condiment.
All Purpose Chimichurri-esque Sauce
Yield: about 1 1/2 cups
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 red or white onion, roughly chopped (you can also use 4-5 scallions here)
the juice of 1 1/2 to 2 limes, to taste
1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
about 4 cups of herbs/greens - I used cilantro, basil, parsley and a handful of spinach (note that you can also use fresh oregano, arugula, watercress, mint...you name it!)
1/4 cup olive oil or any oil you prefer
approx. 1/8 cup filtered water
Add everything to your food processor (see other method notes above) and run until you get a pesto-like consistency. The sauce lasts for about a week in the fridge and can also be frozen for up several months.
