Sluttishly Simple: Chimichurri

Chimichurri is an Argentinian sauce, most commonly served with steak (the Argentinians know what goes well with steak - so when they say chimichurri, we listen. Intently).

It's a parsley-based sauce (if you're not keen on parsley, try it with coriander - you'll end up with mojo verde, a Canarian sauce). You can fiddle about with the quantities - if you love garlic, add more; if you want HEAT, throw in extra chilli. Tweak as you go and put your own spin on it.

Chimichurri doesn't just go brilliantly with steak, of course - try it with chicken, fish, and veggies. It's fabulous drizzled over a chilli, too.

Not only is this delicious, it's incredibly easy and quick to make - mere minutes, possibly even seconds. Let's go.

Chimichurri (makes 250ml)
You will need:

• 2 large handfuls of flat-leaf parsley, as few stalks as possible
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 small shallot, peeled and quartered
• 150ml olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Juice, zest and pulp of ½ an unwaxed lemon
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste

Make it!

1. In a food processor, chop the parsley, garlic, and shallot (if you don't have a food processor or hand blender, just finely chop these ingredients).
2. Transfer to a bowl and add everything else - that's the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon, chilli, oregano, cayenne, salt and pepper. Stir well (don't blend or whizz in the food processor now, though - we don't want this to be baby-food smooth, just sauce-like).
3. Taste, and add more of anything you, um, want more of. 
4. Use your chimichurri as a sauce or marinade - it'll last for about a week in an airtight jar in the fridge.
5. Watch this, because let's face it, you've been humming it since the beginning of the recipe. 

Chim-chim-chimichurriiiiiiiii...

Sluttishly Vegetarian: Beetroot, Orange & Parsley Salad

I can't resist a good beetroot recipe, and not just because the colour matches my chaise longue (in the background in this shot). Beetroot isn't only a deliciously sweet and colourful addition to a salad, oh no. It has also been proven to help lower your blood pressure, so if you're feeling stressed-out, over-worked or otherwise angsty, this is the salad for you.

It's best made with fresh beetroot (please don't use those horrible vinegary vacuum-packed ones!) - they are beautifully sweet and slightly earthy, and make a great match for the citrus, parsley and salty olives.

One word of caution though - wear an apron when you're handling the beetroot as it will stain. If you get pink fingerprints on your best frock then you'll probably undo all that good work the beetroot is doing for you...

You'll need:

• 4 small fresh beetroot
• 2 oranges
• 1 large bunch of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/2 a red onion, sliced finely
• A handful of black olives
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

Make it!

• Put the beetroot in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for approximately one and a half hours, or until they are nice and tender. 
• Leave them to cool. Once cool, they will peel easily. Cut them into bite sized wedges and place into a large mixing bowl.
• Peel and segment the oranges and add to the bowl with the beetroot wedges. Squeeze out any juice from the orange middle into another bowl.
• Add the parsley, onion and olives to the bowl with the orange and beetroot wedges.
• Whisk the olive oil and vinegar into the orange juice. Season to taste, then toss through the salad.