Yesterday afternoon Bo and I spent an hour exploring the Union Square Farmer’s Market as we shopped for our farm-to-table dinner, which we were creating together as part of our Saturday date night.

Finding the produce for the dinner was easy as every stand was overflowing with gorgeous, ripe Summer vegetables. There were hues of red, yellow and green coming from all directions. Heirloom tomatoes, New Jersey sweet corn and fresh herbs were the first things to go in our basket. The incredible diversity of the herbs and produce at the Union Square Farmer’s market shocked us at first. For the past two years, we’ve shopped at a farmer’s market that is far smaller, and it had a very different mixture of products. As you’d expect, there were far more cheese, bread, and wine stands but the produce and meats are often limited.

Since we were exploring the market at 3 pm, quite late by farmer’s market standards, the one area we started to run into issues was finding the meat or fish for the meal. We went stand to stand only to hear that they’d sold out of their meat and only had eggs or sausage options left. Since this we wanted our entire meal to be farm-to-table, we started to brainstorm creative ideas for a vegetarian meal in case we couldn’t find a protein. Luckily, at the last stand, right as we were encountering the palm readers and chess players on the southern end of Union Square, we found a small meat stand that still had flank steak.

An often overlooked cut of meat, the flank steak is a steak cut from the abdominal muscles or butt of the cow.  Due to how lean and economical it is, Flank steak is a great option for both weeknight or weekend meals. It packs an intense beef flavor while coming it at half the price of many other steak cuts. The perfect vehicle for flavor, last night we decided to whip up an easy Chimichurri sauce to accompany our flank steak.

In South America, Chimichurri is a favorite condiment, often served with far more than meat. A traditional Chimichurri is a green sauce primarily composed of parsley, garlic, olive oil and white vinegar. Inspired by the large, fresh bundles of rosemary at the farmer’s market, we created our own version of this flavorful condiment last night – Rosemary Chimichurri Sauce. Ready in less than five minutes, this healthy and flavorful sauce should become a staple in your kitchen. A delicious blend of herbs, Chimichurri adds a flavor punch to just about anything you grill or cook. 

Rosemary Chimichurri Sauce 

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons minced red onions
• 2 packed tablespoons of minced parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon minced chives
• 1/2 teaspoon minced thyme
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons grape seed or vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the first eight ingredients, stir and let sit for a moment. Slowly drizzle in the oil while continuously stirring until well combined. Add a dash or two of salt and pepper, or more depending on your taste. Cover and let the sauce marinate for at least 15 minutes before serving so the flavors have time to combine.  Serve sauce on top of flank steak or your protein of preference and enjoy.

*Since we don’t have a food processor, we chopped the ingredients by hand and combined them in a bowl but you may of course also use a small food processor.