From the Kitchen: Chimichurri and Chili

Since I’m back on the South Beach Phase 1 at the moment, I thought I’d share a couple recipes for Phase 1 friendly foods.  Now, the SoBe diet works for me.  I’ve lost 30 pounds and kept it off.  I even feel better on it, no or few carbs makes me feel much better.  My blood sugar doesn’t swing all over the place and my emotions are much more level.  I still love carbs and it’s very very hard not to want a *big* bowlful of fettuccine alfredo right now, no matter how it makes me feel later.  

One thing you can have lots of is lean meat on the Phase 1.  But even the best steak can get boring.  Here’s my favorite sauce for medium rare beef, chimichurri.  The one we make isn’t the thin almost vinaigrette looking stuff with a few lost bits of herbs floating in it.  Once made, this looks more like green pudding. I love cilantro and happily eat this with a spoon.  We usually roast an eye of round roast fast and hot, a good recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/high-temperature-eye-of-round-roast/  cut it into thin slices and wolf it down with chimichurri.  Hey, it counts as a vegetable, right?

Chimichurri

An Argentinian sauce for grilled meat.  It’s wonderful on just about anything.  This is just my version, everyone has their personal recipe.

1 large bunch (a good handful) of cilantro

1 large bunch (a good handful) of parsley

8 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup vinegar (white, wine, apple cider.  NOT balsamic)

2/3 cup vegetable oil

Salt to taste.

Rinse parsley and cilantro very *very* well.  No one likes gritty chimichurri.  I use a colander and really shake it around.  Place cilantro and parsley in food processor with chopping blade.  Blitz until finely chopped.  Add garlic.  Blitz again.  Add juice, vinegar, and oil.  Blitz again.  Add salt to taste.  It may go a bit white as it tries to emulsify but this will go away.

Another recipe for Phase 1 is our chili.   It does have beans in it but beans are fine on Phase 1. 

Chili

3 pounds ground beef (preferably the fattiest you can get. As Alton Brown says, fat is flavor! besides most of it is poured off)

3 cloves of minced garlic

2 cups of chopped onions

1 medium can chopped tomatoes and green chiles (We generally use Rotel but other companies have the same thing)

1 medium can refried black beans (preferably Kuner’s with the lime juice)

2 large cans of tomato sauce

1 medium can of pink beans (Goya works well, “in sauce” or not)

2 tablespoons of ground cumin

2 tablespoons of chili powder (any kind you like, I like Penzey’s variations)

As much heat as you like from chiles.

Fry burger, garlic and onions in large pot.  Drain off extra fat.  Add everything else.  Cook until heated through or as long as you like.  Tastes like it’s been cooked for days, as chili should. 

Alas, I cannot have my corn bread in phase 1. We use pink beans (habichuelas rosadas) because they aren’t tough like kidney beans.