Post by Ella.
Last night’s late night shenanigan was an Asado masterclass. Trigger warning: lots of food photos.
Asado is both a way of cooking (primarily grilling) and a social event where family and friends enjoy an Asado meal.
There is a wood fired grill fed by, of all things, a wood fire. Within the wood oven, vegetables such as eggplant are thrown directly into the fire. Also imagine a fat sweet potato quartered lengthwise, each quarter rubbed with butter, salted, peppered, drizzled with olive oil, wrapped in foil and cast into the flames. Everything else is grilled. From zucchini to chipa to meats.
Our host, Rosie, starts the class by demonstrating how to mix a Fernet and coke. Fill glass to top with ice, pour in fernet (a little less than a quarter full, 20% to be precise but more if you want), fill to brim with coke allowing a thin layer of foam. Fernet is 40% alcohol so sip frugally if you plan on using sharp knives. She places all the fixings on a tray. We each mix our own drink and are told to refill whenever we want.
Next up, we prepare a salsa of red and yellow bell peppers, red onions, tomatoes, parsley, all diced. Mixed with apple cider vinegar, olive oil and salt. Set that aside to marinate. Nothing is wasted. All the seeds, stems and ends are dumped into a metal canister to be used on another occasion, perhaps as stock.
Chef (can’t think of his name – too much Fernet), shows us different cuts of meat. Flank, skirt, short ribs. Then there is the sweetbread (maybe pancreas?) and sausage.
We make a brine of pepper corns, water, and then pick some fresh herbs: thyme, oregano, rosemary – tie together in a little bundle. Add boiling hot water and some salt. Set aside to steep. Later, some of the thin cuts of meat will be basted with the brine using the herb bundle as a brush.
At some point, we switch from Fernet to white wine for the first couple of courses and then to Malbec (of course). Grubb, the non drinker in the crowd gets freshly made lemonade.
Oh, let’s not forget the sumptuous chimichurri sauce, the grilled chipa (bread), the bell pepper with egg. Finally the luscious dessert of dolce de leche crepe, grilled pear and a dollop of whipped cream.
The company was friendly and we got some good tips. They were all at the end of their Argentine journey whilst we are only beginning. A couple from Austin, another from Australia, and a pair living in London (he Indian and she South African).
It was nearly midnight by the time we got home. Pretty darn late for us old timers. Still, it’s what you do when traveling que no?
The food looked delicious. It sounds like the Argentines do things late. I hope not as late as the Spanish. What are the usual lunch times? PS Good fire starter tip.
Very late. At the tango show, dinner was 8:30. And that was probably a little early. But like any big city, you can generally find a meal whenever you want it. I was looking at the reservation schedule for one of the Michelin starred restaurants and the earliest seating is 7:30. Probably that early so they can accommodate all the foodie tourists.
Sweetbreads in English cover two kinds of organ meats: the thymus gland and the pancreas. Strangely recipes don’t seem to distinguish between the two.
Oh yes, when’s dinner when you get home?
We may need to practice our grilling skills a little more!