Asado Argentino

The secret to "Argentinian Asado" is in the meat and the fire. The cattle in the Argentinian Pampas is fed with wild grass on the open range. This creates a super lean meat with pronounced flavor. The grass fed beef needs to be cooked in the different way than the corn-fed American beef. The heat should be gentle and even, with no direct flame or smoke to pollute the flavor. The smoke can make the outside of the steak greasy. The meat is cooked medium-well or "a punto" and with the slow and gentle cooking the meat will turn into a tender beauty. So let's go into details.


What kind of beef?
Pasture-raised grass fed beef. You can google on the Internet to find your local producer and local stores that sell this kind of beef. Try in Whole Foods and local butchers. The cuts are different in the US, but a close match is the New York strip or rib eye. You will need 10-12 oz per person and coarse sea salt.


The fire
The tradition is open wood fire in a big fire pit. You can use hardwood lump charcoal. Let the charcoal ash over completely before you star cooking in a medium heat fire. You should be able to place your hand 1 inch over the grill (parilla) bars for 2.5 seconds, no longer.


How to cook
Salt only the side you are going to cook first. Place the steak over the grill for about 6 minutes, then turn the brown side up, add the salt and let the steak cook for 6 more minutes without touching or turning.  The time can vary depending of the thickness of the steak. Make sure no direct flames or smoke touches the meat.
As you can see, no condiments (other than salt) or sauces are need for cooking.
The typical asado usually displays meat including a good beef rack cut across the ribs (tira de asado), a piece of flank (vacio), T-bone steak (bife de costilla) and rib eye (bife de chorizo); cured meat including sausage (chorizo), blood sausage (morcilla) and cheese (provoletta, see previous post) are also included.
You can side the steak with chimichurri sauce (see recipe in this blog) and a house salad made of fresh tomatoes, strips of fresh onion and romaine lettuce condimented with salt, oil and red vinegar.
The kind of grills we use in Argentina are a masterpiece of culinary architecture. Almost every house with even a small backyard has one.

Tortilla de papas (Spanish potato tortilla)

2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼ fry shapes

1 large onion

3 eggs beat

Salt & black pepper

1 tbsp peanut oil (for the onions)

Peanut oil to fry

Optional:

1 medium tomato, diced

1 clove garlic

Rinse the potatoes in running water, cover with water and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. Drain the water and pat dry in a clean cloth.

Fry the potatoes over medium-high heat a handful at a time for about 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon remove from the oil and set aside in a paper towel until you cook all the potatoes. Add salt and pepper.

In a saucepan heat 1 tbsp of oil and brown the onions (garlic and tomatoes). When the onions are transparent, drain the oil, add the potatoes and mix evenly. With a spatula flatten the surface and add the eggs. Cook for about 5 minutes in medium-low heat and when the eggs are solid, place a lid or a plate the same size of the saucepan and carefully turn the “tortilla” over to cook the other side. Cook for  2-3 more minutes and is ready to serve.

Provoleta (Grilled provolone cheese)

This is a classic for the "Asados" (barbecue). It is a thick layer of melted provolone cheese served as an appetizer before the meat. You can eat it alone or with bread. The real recipe call for grilling the cheese directly in the "parilla", however this is very difficult to master. Here is a easier version.

1 inch thick slice of provolone cheese
3 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp crushed red pepper

You will need a cast iron griddle, aluminum plate or thick aluminum foil for this recipe. Put the griddle over the grill and wait until it is super hot. Add the slice of cheese and top with 1/2 of the oregano and 1/2 of the pepper. Wait until the bottom turns brow and begins to melt. Turn over, top with the rest of the condiments. When the cheese begins to melt and the bottom is brown is ready to enjoy...!!!

I will talk about "Asado" next time. Don't forget to check the "chimichurri sauce to accompany the meat...

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provoleta has some interesting facts about provoleta.

Tarta de cebolla (Onion pie)

½ lb yellow or white onions, cut in long strips

8 oz plain soft cream cheese

1 cup Parmesan cheese

3 eggs

1 pie crust

1 cup milk

Salt & pepper to taste

In a saucepan heat the milk and then add the onions and cook for 10 min or until onions are transparent. Set aside. In a bowl mix the cream cheese, Parmesan, salt, pepper and add the onions. Prepare the pie crust in an oven proof dish. Finally add the eggs to the mixture, stir and pour over the pie crust. You can cover the top with shaved Parmesan cheese if you like a golden brown surface. Bake in medium heat for 20-30 minutes or until golden.

Humita (Cream of corn pudding or in husk)

Here are two variations of a popular Argentinian dish. You can prepare the "Humita al plato", corn pudding, and serve it by itself or you can wrap the humita in the corn husk "humita en chala". Both are delicious and great as a side dish to serve with meat.
The secret for both recipes is to shred the corn in a box shredder and then run the back of a knife over the core of the corn to release all the liquid. You will use both the shredded corn and the milky liquid.

Humita al plato:

8 yellow sweet corn, shredded + liquid.
1 large onion
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp crushed red peppers
1 cup basal leaves chopped
Salt to taste

In a saucepan mix the heat the oil and the butter and cook the onions until they get transparent, about 10 min.  Add corn and liquid and saute until the mix thickens. Add 1/2 of the milk and stir letting the mix to absorb the milk, then add the other half of the milk. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 more minutes. Finally add the condiments and mix well. Some people like the pudding sweeter, so you can add 1 tsp of sugar at the end.

Humita en chala:

9 sweet yellow corns, shredded (save the husk)
1 cup chopped onion

1 sweet red bell peppers, chopped

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp oil

10 oz tomatoes, chopped, skinned and without seeds

1 tsp paprika

Salt & pepper to taste

4 tbsp Parmesan cheese

1 tsp sugar

In a sauce pan put the oil and the butter and brown the onions and peppers. When the onion is transparent, add tomato, paprika, salt and pepper. Cook for 10 min. Turn of the heat and add the shredded corn, cheese and sugar and mix well. Put two corn husks forming a cross and add 2 tbsp of the mix in the center. Wrap and tie with a thin strip of husk. Boil in salty water for 30-40 minutes. Serve hot.

Pascualina (Spinach pie)

1 bag good quality frozen spinach or equivalent fresh spinach (boiled, chopped and drained)
1 pie crust
1 onion
1 tsp vegetable
1 cup mozzarella cheese finely shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese.
2 eggs
1 tsp red crushed pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a sauce pan and brown the onions.

Add the spinach, red pepper, oregano, salt and pepper and mix well. Cook until the spinach is defrosted (about 5 minutes) or for 2 minutes of you use fresh boiled spinach. Let stand for a few minutes and then drain all the liquid.
Prepare the pie crust on an over dish.

Add the mozzarella, Parmesan and eggs, mix well and place in the oven dish.

Top with thin layer of shaved Parmesan cheese.

 Cook at 450F for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is brown.

Chimichurri Sauce

This is a sauce that you can use with grilled meat (asado). In Argentina the meat is usually condimented with sea salt or "sal parillera", grilled ans served plain. You can place in the table the jar with the sauce and people will add it to taste. They are many variations of this sauce. You can adjust the condiments at your taste, but this is a basic recipe. You can store the sauce for about 1 week in the refrigerator.

1 cup boiling water

1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar (red, white or balsamic, your taste)
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley (no stems)
3-4 garlic cloves
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp chopped rosemary
1 tbsp chopped thyme
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 2 tsp dry.
1 tsp black pepper

Dissolve the sea salt in the water and add the pepper flakes. Let cool down. In a glass jar, that you will use for storage mix the cool water mix and the rest of the ingredients. Make sure the mix is homogeneous. Cover with a lid and store in the refrigerator. If you use dry ingredients the sauce may last longer, but you will sacrifice the taste.