Choripan

By Foodguy on May 6th, 2008

The first thing I do when I step foot in Buenos Aires is make a b-line to a local parilla for a choripan! It’s one of the most popular sandwiches consisting of a large chorizo sausage split lengthwise topped with a large dollop of chimichurri sauce served on a crusty roll. The name comes from the it’s ingredients: chorizo and the crusty bread (”pan” in Spanish). The chorizo cut in half lengthwise is called mariposa (butterfly). It is said the name chimichurri came from an Irishman called ‘Jimmy McCurry’ who is said to have first prepared the sauce in the 19th Century while marching with the troops sympathetic to Argentina’s independence. The sauce became popular among the locals but was hard to pronounce and slowly became what we now know as chimichurri!

Inside an Argentine parilla

Choripan

INGREDIENTS:

4 chorizo sausages
4 crusty rolls
chimichurri sauce (recipe below)

DIRECTIONS:

Cook chorizo’s for about 8-10 minutes either on a grill or in a frying pan. After about 10 minutes, cut the chorizo’s lengthwise and continue cooking for about 5 minutes or until nice and charred.

To serve, place chorizo on a crusty roll and top chorizo with chimichurri sauce.

Chimichurri sauce

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1 teaspoon smoked pimenton
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the water and white vinegar and mix well. Let this sit for about 15 minutes. Then add the olive oil and mix thoroughly.