5:30 Challenge: Top steaks with chimichurri for a quick summer dinner

Forget A1 or compound butter. The herb-packed Argentinian sauce chimichurri is the one of the best condiments you can put on a steak. And while I’ll be happy to eat steak with chimichurri all year long, the combination truly shines in the summer.

For the steaks, choose quick-cooking thin cuts, such as rib-eye, sirloin or New York strips between 3/4 to 1-inch thick. These will go from raw to medium-rare in less than five minutes. You can sear the steaks inside in a cast-iron skillet (be prepared for smoke) or outside on a gas grill. (The recipe will work on charcoal as well, but it’ll take close to 30 minutes to get the grill ready.) Season generously with salt, then coat the steaks, not the skillet or grill grates, with oil — you need just enough fat to provide a conduit for the heat. Any excess will burn and create acrid flavors and more smoke.

Start preparing the chimichurri sauce before you cook the steak. Begin by finely chopping red onion or shallot and letting it soak in red wine vinegar for however long you’re attending to the meat. This step will mellow the bite of the onion just enough to balance the flavor of the sauce. While the finished steak rests, add the remaining chimichurri ingredients — equal parts chopped parsley, chopped cilantro and olive oil — to the vinegar mixture. You can vary the herb additions to suit your taste; I often like a little fresh thyme or oregano in my chimichurri, and it’s fine to play with the ratios as well. Either way, don’t skimp on the olive oil.