Serves 4 I first heard of making a salad inside a hot, roasted pumpkin from the Argentine chef, Francis Mallmann. My version of this unusual salad is streamlined for the home cook. Enjoy this wonderful comfort food on a cold day. Makes enough for a light meal, or use it as an impressive starter in a larger feast. Ingredients: 2 acorn squash (or pumpkin – whatever is in season) olive oil salt pepper For the vinaigrette: 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/2 cup olive oil 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper bunch baby arugula 8 ounces Bucheron goat cheese (this is aged goat cheese – regular goat cheese is a fine substitute) Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 400F. 2. Cut pumpkins in half and remove seeds and strings. Brush cut ends liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 3. Roast for 45 min-1 hour, or until a fork pierces the flesh with no resistance. 4. Meanwhile, whisk together ingredients for the vinaigrette in a small bowl. …
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Serves 4-8 Spicy and hearty, beef empanadas are great party food. Serve with Chimichurri dipping sauce for a garlicky kick. Ingredients: 2 batches empanada dough For the Filling: 1 Tbsp butter 1 onion, minced 1 1/2 Tbsp tomato paste 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp cayenne 1/2 lb ground hamburger, 85% lean 3/4 cup low sodium beef broth 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack 1 hard-boiled egg, chopped 1-2 green onions chopped salt pepper Method: First, prepare the empanada dough. For the empanada filling: 1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and melt. Add onion and cook until softened and translucent. Add tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano, and cayenne. Stir thoroughly to combine and cook for about 2 minutes. 2. Add ground beef and cook until the seasonings mix in and meat is just cooked through. Add beef broth and simmer over low until most of the moisture evaporates and meat just looks wet. 3. Turn off heat. Stir in cheese, egg, and green onion. Cool filling …
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Have you ever seen an Argentine Tango? Be prepared for a boost of energy! Speaking of energy – consider trying Yerba Mate Tea. This video will tell you all about it! (I found some at Whole Foods made by Traditional Medicinals):
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Uggg. Empanadas are hard to make. Well, to be specific, they’re hard to “repulgue.” Watching the videos in yesterday’s post made me think “Wow, this is going to be a breeze.” So naive. So VERY naive. The videos made it look easy breezy because those people had probably repulgued (can you say that?) thousands of empanadas. When you have made zero, repulging (probably can’t say that) is not easy at all. So, I hope you’ll cut me some slack when you see what I made for this weekend. At least I didn’t resort to the fork (although I thought about it). Although the empanadas look like the product of a kindergarten craft project, lots of love and effort went into their making. My friend and I spent the better part of the day making dough, cooking the filling, cooling the filling, filling the filling into the filling… huh? what? Sorry, I had some sangria in there somewhere, too. Now that you’ve been updated, let’s talk dulce de leche. Dulce de leche is made by cooking sweetened condensed milk for several hours until …
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“You just might do it wrong,” said the little squeaky voice inside my head. I looked up from the Empanadas recipe and frowned. “I’ve made little filled pastries before.” I replied, “Just cut circles, fill with meat, fold in half, and seal the edges with a fork. Easy!” “There’s probably a proper way to make empanadas,” said the voice, a little louder. “You should find out, before you make a fool out of yourself.” The voice inside my head became louder still, chattering on until I admitted defeat. The voice was right – I needed to find out once and for all. Fast forward through several google searches and YouTube videos (seeing as my cookbook was no help in this area). Wouldn’t you know, there actually IS a proper way to shape empanadas and it does NOT include sealing the edges with a fork. The method is to “repulgue,” or roll the edges to make the appearance of a two strand braid. As fate would have it, an Argentinian blogger living in Paris just happened to blog about this very technique 12 days ago! Huzzah! …
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I am sitting at the dining room table with a cup of tea and cookbooks strewn about me. This is a normal Tuesday night. I spend as much time looking at random recipes as I do Argentinian recipes. I realize I am happy. Thank you, Food, for all your incarnations. Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Arugula and Chevre [Recipe] The cavity of a steaming, roasted pumpkin is filled with goat cheese, arugula and mint vinaigrette. Any pumpkin variety is acceptable, depending on seasonal availability. Beef Empanadas [Recipe] A savory beef filling is wrapped in pastry and baked. Traditional recipes include hard-boiled egg and green onion. Chimichurri Dipping Sauce [Recipe] This garlicky dipping sauce made with fresh parsley has the consistency of a loose salsa. Pastel de Papa con Elote (Potato and Corn Pie) [Recipe] Mashed potatoes topped with pureed corn and baked. Crepes with Dulce de Leche [Recipe] Crepes are spread with a thin layer of milk fudge, rolled, and served warm from the oven.
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My mom tells me I didn’t like meat when I was a baby. My little chubby fingers pushed past the pot roast to get to the potatoes. To this day, I’ll almost always pick a black bean burger (or turkey burger) over a regular, beef burger. In fact, we eat vegetarian most nights. Well, here we are in Argentina. Land of Beef. Think Americans like their moo? Check this out… the average Argentinian consumes 2-4 servings of beef per meal, making their per capita beef consumption double America’s. (Source) brb… … Sorry, I had to go get some of my husband’s blood pressure medicine. My heart hurts. Let’s move on. Despite their obsession with red meat, Argentinians eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and grains. In fact they grow a healthy supply of wheat, corn, potatoes, and grapes. These staples make their way into many popular dishes and Argentina is known for great wine. (For those that do not consume alcohol, you might enjoy the popular tea, Mate, drunk throughout Argentina.) While they may be using local crops in their cooking, many Argentinian …
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This is meal #6 in my personal challenge to eat one meal from every country in the world. Sea, salt, sand, balmy, breezy, beautiful. Nope. I woke up to 40F and overcast (with the closest beach a full day’s drive away). Not exactly the best weather or locale for Caribbean picnic food. And, just think, we had had 70 degree weather a few days earlier. Darn. Refusing to be brought down by ol’ man winter, I got dressed up to my smile and chanted the old mantra “mind over matter, mind over matter.” By meal time I was still dragging a little (I kept glancing out at the clouds, looking for some piece of blue sky – only to be dissapointed). I’ll tell you what – one bite into my sandwich and the dreary weather was far from my mind. The delicious flavors of the Caribbean uplifted me! (Perhaps I should be chanting “food over mood, food over mood” from now on). The meal just oozed spring sunshine (coconut rum, anyone???). So much so that, after eating, I invited our guests to bring their daughter Abigail out back …
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Serves: 4 This chicken salad is incredible. The intense curry melds with the grilled chicken, while sweet bursts of pineapple and raisin leave you begging for more. For the best flavor, serve on a rustic baguette brushed with olive oil and toasted on the grill. YUM! Ingredients: 3 cups of grilled boneless chicken breasts, shredded (about 4 chicken breasts. Grilling the chicken just adds more flavor.) 1/2 cup raisins 16 oz pineapple tidbits 1/2 cup mayonnaise 3 Tbsp mango chutney 1 Tbsp curry powder 2 lemons, juiced salt pepper 1 head red boston lettuce 1-2 rustic baguette – depending on your appetite! (a rustic baguette is wider than a traditional baguette – holds more filling) Method: 1. In a large bowl, combine chicken with raisins and pineapple. 2. In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, chutney, curry, and lemon juice. 3. Pour over chicken and stir to combine. While you can enjoy the chicken salad right away, it’s great to let flavors meld for an hour in the refrigerator. 4. Slice baguette(s) in half long-ways and brush the inside with olive oil. …
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Serves: 4 Baked bananas are delicious in brown sugar and butter. Serve hot over ice cream, making sure everyone gets a little of the sauce. NOTE: not all rum will light. I had coconut rum on hand and it does not flambe (however, it did add great flavor to the bananas). You will need to buy Bacardi 151 for this. Also try Benin’s Baby Bananas in Orange Sauce. Ingredients: 6 ripe bananas peeled 1/2 cup brown sugar 4 Tbsp melted butter 2 ounces coconut rum 1 ounce bacardi 151 (to light it on fire) Vanilla ice cream Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 2. Lay bananas in a casserole dish. In a small bowl combine brown sugar with butter. Spoon mixture over bananas. 3. Bake for 20 minutes (longer if bananas are firmer). 4. Transfer bananas to a serving dish. Pour rum over the bananas and carefully light on fire. CAUTION: You can burn yourself. Don’t do that! 5. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream. Baked Brown Sugar Bananas Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: …
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Serves 4 Take a sip of this sweet drink and you’ll think you’re on the beach in Antigua. Use fresh squeezed juices if possible. Serve with sugar cane swizzle sticks for an added festivity. Please drink in moderation. No drinky and drivey. Ingredients: 1 cup grapefruit juice 1 cup pineapple juice 1 cup coconut rum 1/4 cup grenadine 1/3 cup lime juice 3 cups Jamaican Ting (carbonated grapefruit soda, available at Whole Foods) Optional Ingredients: sugar cane swizzle sticks (available at Whole Foods) pineapple rings, for garnish Method: 1. In a large pitcher combine grapefruit juice, pineapple juice, rum, grenadine, and lime juice. Chill thoroughly. 2. Immediately before serving, add Ting and stir to combine. 3. Serve chilled. With your feet in the sand, if possible. Sparkling Grapefruit Breeze Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe Take a sip of this sweet drink and you’ll think you’re on the beach in Antigua. Use fresh squeezed juices if possible. Serve with sugar cane swizzle sticks for an added festivity. Please drink in moderation. CourseDrinks LifestylePotluck Friendly, Vegan, Vegetarian Food …
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Serves: 4-6 My husband said he would never order this on a menu but when he tried it, he bacame a believer. Sweet mango, buttery avocado, tart lime juice, and spicy jalepeno make a wonderful summertime salad. Make sure your fruit is juicy and ripe! Ingredients: 2 large mango, cubed 2 large avocado, cubed 2 limes, juiced 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion 1-2 Tbsp minced jalepeno (mild-hot) salt pepper Method: 1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper. Serve room temperature or slightly chilled – the flavors are more intense at room temperature. Spicy Mango and Avocado Salad Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe My husband said he would never order this on a menu but when he tried it, he became a believer. Sweet mango, buttery avocado, tart lime juice, and spicy jalapeno make a wonderful summertime salad. Make sure your fruit is juicy and ripe! CourseSides & Salads Lifestyle5-ingredients or less, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian Food TypeFruit, Sasha’s Favorite Recipes, Spicy, Vegetables Servings 4-6 people Servings 4-6 …
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