In a Whiz - Chimichurri into Aioli - It's All Good

Confession time: Sometimes I get a little overzealous buying greens. 

Maybe it's because I have access to about 15 different produce and farmers markets in my little corner of NYC. Maybe it's because my intensions are often better than my eating habits. Regardless, I end up with a, sad, wilted, and unappetizing. 

Rather than waste these abandoned lettuces littering my crisper drawer, I went in search of a recipe that I could hide them in — and I found one! The Chimichurri recipe found in Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Turshen's book, It's All Good, which calls for Italian parsley and cilantro. 

I know, I know, not all greens are alike. But I am one of those lucky humans who tastes soap when I eat cilantro, so I've been substituting it with arugula for years. Why not just replace the parsley with the sad looking red chard or kale or spinach that I have around to keep the arugula company? 

And while I was at it, I upped the amount of garlic, and threw in red pepper flake instead of fresh jalepeno. It's easier to control the heat level my way - Ok, fine, it's just easier. 

But the real magic happened the first time I took this from my mini chopper into my Ninja blender. With just a few pulses, the greens, garlic, EVOO, and vinegar flew past something that resembles a pesto, into something that I can only describe as an aioli. 

This is the most amazing condiment I have ever used. It has just enough fat to be used like a mayonnaise or mustard on a sandwich (I'm partial to a heavy shmear on a grilled chicken sandwich). I've used it on my salmon cakes, in place of ketchup, and found a whole new level of amazing to one of my favorite foods. 

And the best part? In each bite there is a hearty punch of healthy greens. So unlike when I want to slather a my grilled chicken sandwich in mayo, a heavy shmear of my Chimi-Aioli is a guilt-free power punch of flavor. 

I love a win-win, and trust me, this spread is a winner!! 

In case you can't read my handwriting in that photo...

Ingredients: 

• 2 packed cups arugula (or whatever salad greens you have on hand)
• 3 gloves of garlic
• 1 tsp - 1 Tbs red pepper flakes (start on the low end, kick up your spice as needed)
• 1/2 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• 3 Tbs vinegar (your choice - I've used red wine, apple cider, white wine — all good)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp coarse sea salt OR 1 tsp kosher salt 

Method: Throw it all in a blender, Ninja, bullet, food chopper of choice and whiz it until CREAMY. 

Store in a sealed container in the fridge for... I don't know its shelf life, I've not had any around long enough to go bad. 

Day 5 of NaBloPoMo... I barely made it!