Chimichurri as pizza condiment

[Fat Guy]

I've been in a few Argentinean-owned pizzerias where chimichurri is offered as a pizza condiment. While it's no surprise to go most anywhere in the world and find local modifications to pizza, the remarkable thing about the pizza-chimichurri combination is how amazingly good it is. It's one of those globe-girdling ingredient combinations that make a mockery of "authenticity."

Then again, there does seem to be some evolutionary linkage between pizza and chimichurri. The Italian influence in Argentina is significant, and the basic ingredient blend underlying chimichurri -- parsley, garlic and olive oil -- surely derives from pesto or a related European condiment.

If you've never tried a little chimichurri on a slice of pizza, I highly recommend it.

[TAPrice]

I ate a good deal of pizza in Buenos Aires, but I don't remember chimichurri offered as an option.

Did I miss it, or is this some strange innovation of the expatriates in the U.S.?

[Rebecca263]

There was an Argentiniansteak and pasta restaurant in Hollywood, Florida that we used to frequent. I never encountered any other place like it. They also offered chimichurri as an accompaniment to the pizza brought to the table at the beginning of the meal. I LOVED it. Of course, I like chimichurri on my salad, on my eggplant, well, I ate a LOT of chimichurri. I like to say that my high chimichurri intake is why I look a LOT younger than I actually am!

[Silly Disciple]

I ate a good deal of pizza in Buenos Aires, but I don't remember chimichurri offered as an option.

Did I miss it, or is this some strange innovation of the expatriates in the U.S.?

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the latter. It is definitely not part of the classical "repertoire" of pizza toppings in Argentina.

[Fat Guy]

I wouldn't categorize it as a pizza topping. A topping, to me, would be something that's baked on to the pizza, like pepperoni or mushrooms. The way I've seen chimichurri served is as a condiment, at the table. You take a little bit of it and spoon it over your pizza and spread it around. When you consider the condiments that are already on the table at a lot of pizzerias -- garlic, oregano, etc. -- chimichurri doesn't seem all that far off base. It's great.

[Silly Disciple]

I wouldn't categorize it as a pizza topping. A topping, to me, would be something that's baked on to the pizza, like pepperoni or mushrooms. The way I've seen chimichurri served is as a condiment, at the table. You take a little bit of it and spoon it over your pizza and spread it around. When you consider the condiments that are already on the table at a lot of pizzerias -- garlic, oregano, etc. -- chimichurri doesn't seem all that far off base. It's great.

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Steve,

I'm not saying it's not a good idea, and indeed you are right, it's not a topping but rather a condiment.

However, in Argentina it is traditionally used as a condiment for grilled meat or sausage, or even grilled chicken. I've never seen it used for pizza, nor have I seen it offered as a condiment in pizzerias in Argentina.

[Fat Guy]

If it is indeed not served as a condiment in pizzerias in Argentina (all I found online with a quick search was this reference to it being served in a pizzeria in Chile), that's even more interesting. It means it took the intervention of a third nation's food culture to realize the pairing.

[Silly Disciple]

This is a good question for Saltshaker, quite possibly the most thorough food anthropologist in Buenos Aires these days..

[Fat Guy]

Today I visited a local pizzeria that served a pretty good NY slice, called La Traviata, on Columbus Avenue in New York City. They actually had three condiments out in bowls on the counter, all of which seemed Latin in derivation: the first was a standard chimichurri, or at least what I think of as standard; the second was a spicy light-green paste of some sort; the third seemed to be just red pepper flakes in oil. I mixed all three. Made for a great slice.