If you love chimichurri, you'll love Tkemali. They share a backbone — fresh herbs, garlic, salt, a hit of acid, a little heat — but they get there differently.
Chimichurri leans on olive oil and vinegar. Tkemali leans on wild plums. The plums bring the acidity and the body, which means a single tablespoon of Tkemali has a fraction of the fat of an equivalent spoonful of chimichurri. It also means the flavor is fruit-driven instead of oil-driven — brighter, less heavy, lower in calories.
This recipe is a riff: a Tkemali "chimichurri" you can spoon onto skirt steak, grilled fish, or a thick slab of grilled bread.
Recipe card
A Healthier Alternative to Chimichurri (That Isn't Pretending to Be Chimichurri)
- Prep
- 5m
- Cook
- 0m
- Total
- 5m
- Yield
- About 1 cup
Ingredients
- →1/2 cup Malli Green Tkemali
- →1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- →2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
- →1 small shallot, minced
- →1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- →2 tbsp olive oil
- →Pinch of red pepper flakes
- →Flaky salt to taste
Instructions
- 01
Combine
Stir all ingredients together in a bowl. Let sit 5 minutes for the flavors to meet.
- 02
Taste and adjust
Add more vinegar for sharpness, more olive oil for richness, more salt for depth.
- 03
Serve
Spoon over grilled steak, fish, roasted vegetables, or a thick slice of grilled bread.
