Some flavours are just meant to be together—it's like destiny, food-style. Cilantro and lime are flavour soul mates—they just go together like peas and carrots. The addition of cilantro and lime to a basic dish, like rice and beans, escalates it from "plain and boring" to "superstar." Add a little cumin into the mix and the flavour is out of this world.
Now, not everyone feels that way about cilantro. Apparently, we all have a gene that determines if we find cilantro to be a delicious and fresh flavour or a soap-like one. My husband, unfortunately, has the latter gene. More cilantro for me, I guess!
Chimichurri is traditionally made with parsley, but one day I found myself with an excess of cilantro, and so I decided to experiment a little, with scrumptious results. Usually chimichurri is drizzled over grilled meats, but why should the meat-eaters have all the fun? Rice and beans, that boring staple meal of vegetarians, skyrockets to "superstar" status with the addition of zesty cilantro chimichurri. And when topped with sliced cherry tomatoes and avocado? Truly out of this world!
Ingredients:
In a blender, whir together cilantro, garlic, lime juice, cumin, olive oil, and sea salt until smooth. Set aside. Prepare rice according to package directions. In the last ten minutes of cooking the rice, add the beans and lime juice. Remove from heat, and stir in the chimichurri sauce. Top with cherry tomatoes and avocado, and enjoy! This is delicious hot or cold, and also makes a great filling for tortilla wraps.
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