Argentinian-style steak with chimichurri and roast potatoes

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 800g potatoes, cut into chunky roast-sized pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large steaks, such as sirloin, rump or ribeye, around 250g each
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

For the chimichurri
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, very finely chopped
• Small handful coriander, very finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated or very finely chopped
• 1 small red chilli, very finely chopped, optional
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Get the potatoes started

Heat the oven to 220°C fan. Put the potatoes into a large pan of well-salted cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 8–10 minutes until the edges are just starting to soften, then drain well and leave them to steam dry for a minute or two. Give them a little shake in the colander to rough up the edges. That scruffy surface is exactly what helps them turn properly golden later.

2. Roast the potatoes

Tip the potatoes into a roasting tray with the olive oil, a good pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Toss well, then roast for 35–45 minutes, turning once or twice, until crisp, golden and looking like they know exactly what they are there for.

3. Make the chimichurri

While the potatoes roast, stir together the parsley, coriander, garlic, chilli if using, dried oregano, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl. Season with salt and black pepper, then give it a taste. It should be sharp, herby and lively enough to wake the steak up rather than merely sit beside it looking decorative.

4. Prep the steak

Take the steaks out of the fridge 20–30 minutes before cooking if you can. Pat them dry, season them well with salt and black pepper, and leave them alone for a bit. Cold steak straight into a pan is rarely doing itself any favours.

5. Cook the steak properly

Heat a frying pan or griddle pan until properly hot. Cook the steaks for 2–3 minutes on each side for medium-rare, or a little longer depending on thickness and how you like them. Try not to keep turning them every 10 seconds. Let the pan do its job and allow a proper crust to form.

6. Let it rest

Transfer the steaks to a board or warm plate and leave them to rest for 5–10 minutes. This is not a fussy extra. It is the difference between juicy and disappointing.

7. Serve

Slice the steak thickly and serve with the roast potatoes alongside. Spoon over plenty of chimichurri and take the rest to the table in a bowl. That way nobody has to behave politely about it.

A couple of helpful notes

- Chimichurri is best made a little ahead of time if you can, even just 15–20 minutes, so the flavours have a chance to settle in properly.
- Sirloin, rump or ribeye all work well here – you just want a steak with good flavour rather than something too lean.
- If you want to stretch things a bit further, a simple tomato salad or some charred spring onions on the side would fit in very nicely.