Around the World in 80 Dishes: Argentina

The posts that I love the most during my Around the World in 80 Dishes culinary challenge are those that involve cooking meat. I am an unabashed carnivore and, to this date, one of my favorite challenges involved Uruguay. I had to prepare Chivitos al Pan, a sandwich that could clog an artery on its own. 

I could truly feel at home in a large swath of South America - from Brazil to Uruguay and on to Argentina, where the cuisines are, to say the very least, meat-centric. For now, I will settle with my next personal culinary challenge, which requires me to make a main course from Argentina. 

The cuisine of Argentina actually begins with the indigenous people of the Andes, as well as the Guarani. I have already some experience with Guarani cuisine from my challenge involving neighboring Paraguay. These indigenous cultures contributed to Argentine cuisine through the use of potatoes, cassava, melons, peppers, squash, tomatoes, beans, quinoa and other native ingredients. These ingredients gave rise to dishes such aa, humita, which is made after milling maize, and cooking processes like curanto, a method used by the Mapuche to cook meat, vegetable or fruits over hot coals covered with linen or dry leaves.

The Spanish introduced cattle, goats and pigs during the colonial period, which became the foundation for the large cattle industry that has a prominent place in Argentine cuisine and culture. However, many of the cattle and horses escaped farms and ranches, finding independence in the countryside long before the people of what would become Argentina. 

A historic photo of a gaucho
(Source: Estancia Ranquilco)

As the cattle and horses roamed the plains, so did the gaucho. Some say the word "gaucho" comes from the Quecha word "huachu," which means "orphan," or "homeless." Others say it comes from the Guarani word for "drinker." Either way, the etymology of "gaucho" sheds some light on the early history of the Gauchos. They were solitary horsemen, wandering the Pampas in search of wild cattle or horses. To be a gaucho was to be part of a social class, one that was, at least at first, viewed with disdain. The Spanish colonial authorities viewed gauchos as cattle thieves, robbers and smugglers. As someone else summarized a gaucho: 

a colonial bootlegger whose business was contraband trade in cattle hides. His work was highly illegal; his character lamentably reprehensible; his social standing was exceedingly low.

Put simply, "gaucho" was an insult, often lobbed at people who lived in the countryside. 

All of that changed with the war for independence in 1810. As a Spanish general once described the gauchos during the war: 

The gauchos were men that knew the country, well mounted and armed.... They approached the troop with such confidence, relaxation and coolness that they caused great admiration among European military men, who were seeing for the first time these extraordinary horsemen whose excellent qualities for guerilla warfare and swift surprise they had to endure on many occasions.

The war saw gauchos go from being outcasts to revolutionary heroes. The gauchos continued to ply the plains after the war, hunting and trading while living off of the land. 

Ultimately, capitalism was able to accomplish what Spanish generals could not. Private owners began acquiring the livestock that lived on the Pampas, along with fencing off the land into huge estates. As the fences went up, the area for the gauchos to roam shrank. Soon, they were not able to live off the land as they once were. "In one generation," it has been observed, "the free-spirited gaucho was forced to become a ranchhand." 

Modern day gauchos (Source: Audley Travel)

APPETIZER

In honor of the gauchos, this particular Around the World in 80 Dishes challenge will feature meat ... and more meat. For an appetizer, I decided to make Choripan or, as the Argentinians call it, "chori." The origins of this dish can be traced to the gauchos, who would grill chorizo - introduced to the region by the Spanish - over a fire in the countryside. Gauchos serve the grilled sausages with bread (pan) for convenience. The dish made its way into the cities, where it is now a common street food that can be found at food stalls or football matches. 

The recipe I found calls for the preparation of chimichurri as a condiment for the Choripan. The history of chimichurri is not very clear. Some historians have argued that gauchos created chimichurri to flavor the roasted meats. Others note that "chimichurri" is close to "tximitxurri," which is Basque for "a mixture of several things in no particular order." It may even predate the Spanish, as the Quechua had a similar word for a strong sauce that was used to preserve meats.

The Argentinian government has noted the popularity of this dish, estimating that over 500,000,000 choripan are consumed each year. There is even a Choripan World Cup, which is held annually in the city of Cordoba. 

ARGENTINIAN-STYLE CHORIPAN

Recipe from Saveur

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 fresh chorizo sausages, Argentinian style if possible
• 4 6-inch hero rolls, split length wise, connected on one side like a hinge
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup minced white onion
• 1 clove of garlic, grated using a microplane
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare the choripan. Preheat a grill over medium heat. Add the chorizo and let cook, turning occasionally with tongs as needed, until the sides are deeply seared and the center is fully cooked through. 30-35 minutes. 

2. Prepare the chimichurri.  In a medium bowl, add the parsley, onion and garlic. Stir briefly to combine. Add the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, stirring well. Let rest for at least 15 minutes. (Chimichurri can be left out at room temperature for up to 12 hours before serving. 

3. Finish the dish. If desired, briefly warm the insides of the rolls over the grill. You can split the sausages lengthwise if desired as well. Place one cooked sausage into each roll. Slater one side of the roll and some of the sausage generously with chimichurri. Serve immediately. 

MAIN COURSE

A cornerstone of Argentine cuisine is asado, or the grilling of meats. The Asador - or cook - prepares the parilla, which is the grill. There are two parts to this grill: one section that houses the charcoal and wood, and another that has the metal grill upon which the meat - known as carne a la parilla - will be cooked. The meat is primarily beef, but lamb, mutton or pork may also find themselves being seared on the grill. As for the cuts or types, one could find chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage), vacio (flank steak), bife ancho (ribeye steak) and lomo (tenderloin). 

However, for this culinary challenge, I will assume the role of asador and prepare tira de asado, which are short ribs and which happen to be one of the more popular cuts to grill. The short ribs are not the typical ones that I can find in grocery stores around me. Instead, the Argentinians have their own style, which is a flanken cut across a three or four bone plate. It took a little time, but I was able to find the cut online (as it is the same type of cut used for South Korean kalbi). 

One last thing, as with the choripan, this recipe called for the preparation of "traditional chimichurri." The recipe underscores one understanding about chimichurri: there are as many versions of the sauce as there are cooks, gauchos or asadors. This recipe does not use onions, as the chimichurri sauce for the choripan, but it does use crushed red pepper. These changes result in a slightly thinner sauce that has a much stronger kick. That is definitely more to my liking. 

TIRA DE ASADO WITH TRADITIONAL CHIMICHURRI

Recipe for the ribs from Food and Wine

Recipe for the chimichurri from Food and Wine

Ingredients (for the short ribs):

• 3.5 pounds of flanken cut, 3 bone beef short ribs
• 1.5 tablespoons coarse sea salt

Ingredients (for the chimichurri):

• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons oregano leaves
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Prepare the chimichurri. In a food processor, combine the parsley, vinegar, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and pour the olive oil over the mixture. Let stand for 20 minutes.

2. Grill the beef ribs. Preheat the grill (preferably a wood fire) to medium high (400 degrees Fahrenheit to 450 degrees Fahrenheit). Pat the ribs dry with paper towels. Sprinkle all sides of ribs evenly with salt, pressing salt into meat and rubbing it on bones. Arrange the ribs diagonally, spaced 1 inch apart on lightly oiled grates. Grill uncovered and undisturbed until bottoms of ribs are browned and release from grates, about 4 to 6 minutes. Flip ribs, and continue to grill uncovered until browned and a thermometer near the bone but not touching it registers 130 degrees Fahrenheit, about 2 to 4 minutes. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Finish the dish. Serve the ribs whole, or if serving with an assortment of meats for a larger group, cut each rib into thirds on the diagonal. Serve with chimichurri.

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In the end, this challenge satisfied my inner carnivore. Any grilling challenge almost inevitably ends up in the top few of my most favorite challenges. I may not have been out in the middle of nowhere in the Pampas, but from my suburban backyard, I could at least spend a couple of hours as an Asador or a Gaucho. Until next time ...

PEACE.