Yes, I have joined Blue Sky. I was never really a Twitter user – although I did have an account – and I’m really tiring of the Zuckerberg Empire. At the moment, Blue Sky is fun. And, as with all things, we shall see how it plays out.
In the meantime, I saw a post from a woman in a food group I joined – food group. me. shocking, eh?!? – that sounded like fun – Cooking dishes from around the world – alphabetically. (Thanks, Niamh!)
Now… if you look at a list of the countries of the world, it seems there are something like 196 of them. Figuring one a week, I would be pushing 77 by the time I reached Zimbabwe, so… I thought I’d start by just picking a country out of each letter – from A to Z – once a week. That will be roughly half a year, and I can start over if I’m still so inclined.
My first thought was I would go to some of the more obscure countries and esoteric recipes – from a western point of view, anyway – and see what I could find. Alas, what I found were recipes that included things like sheep brain or things that would be difficult to source here in the Portland suburbs. I would have no problem eating these things in their home country prepared by a local, but… I’m not going to do it at home.
Another thing I noticed when looking at recipes was any given ‘national dish’ usually had a dozen different variations… they usually started off with a specific ingredient or cooking method, but ingredients were added or subtracted depending upon the cook or area within the country. Even when something was specific to a region, the recipes varied.
For me, I think it means that I can do my own tweaking here and there, and still be true to the concept of the dish.
With all that being said… first stop is Argentina!
I figured Argentina – with its gauchos and beef – would be an easy start. In doing a bit of internet research, I learned that beef is becoming increasingly expensive in Argentina, and that pork and chicken consumption are on the rise. It seems inflation, government austerity measures, droughts, supply chains., are affecting the Argentinian protein staple. And, as usual, it is the poor who are suffering the most.
Probably the biggest Argentine national dish is Asado – barbecue. Oregon in January is probably not the right place for a low and slow outdoor cooking experience, so I went with Carbonada Criolla – an Argentinian Beef Stew. Definitely something that fits our winter weather pattern!
I combined a couple of recipes to make this. It is often served in a hollowed out pumpkin. I served ours in bowls.
Carbonada Criolla
adapted from Amigo Foods
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1.5 pounds boneless beef
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup corn
- 2 sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks
- 2 yellow potatoes, cut into large chunks
- 1 butternut squash, cut into large chunks
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 cup red wine
- 8 ounces dried apricots
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Using a dutch oven or deep pot with lid, heat the oil on medium heat.
Sautè the onion until the onion is caramelized. Add garlic and briefly cook. Remove from pot and set aside.
Add the beef cubes and sautè in the same pot until the beef is browned.
Add the caramelized onion and garlic.
Stir in 1 cup red wine, cleaning the bottom of the pan. Allow it to cook down a bit.
Add the green bell pepper chops, tomatoes, sweet and yellow potato cubes, diced squash and corn, and mix well.
Add salt and pepper, to taste, the beef broth, and bring to a boil.
Stir in the apricots, cover, and place in a 300°F/150°C oven for about 1 1/2 hours.
Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper, as desired.
The stew was excellent! The flavor was fantastic – and with no herbs or spices other than salt and pepper! The vegetables and apricots did everything!
It also made a vat! There were so many things going into my dutch oven that I didn’t have room for the carrots. But… we didn’t miss them. It was tons of flavor in a bowl.
While a more traditional accompaniment might be cornbread, I though sopapillas would be fun. Being used to a soft and puffy sopapilla, I thought this baked version might be fun. More like a flatbread.
Argentine Sopapillas
This recipe came from The Bread Maiden.
- 700 grams all-purpose flour plus more for kneading
- 200 g. lard (preferably beef, but whatever works)
- 20 g. salt
- 400 ml water
I cobbled together a combination of duck fat, lard, and butter. It worked out fine.
1. Melt the lard and let it cool.
2. Whisk together the flour and salt in a big bowl.
3. Add the lard and the water to the flour and salt and knead for about ten minutes, until the dough is smooth. This is super easy.
4. Once the dough is smooth, transfer it to a floured surface.
5. Using a pastry cutter, cut into equal-sized balls (I measured the entire dough, divided that weight into 12, and made the balls each the same weight)
6. Cover the balls with plastic wrap and let sit for an hour.
7. Take out a few baking sheets and either cover them with parchment paper or coat them in butter then dust them with flour. I tried it both ways, and I found using parchment paper was just fine and less of a mess, but it’s your call.
8. With your fingers, stretch each ball of dough into a flat circle. Place them on the parchment or floured baking sheets. Cover them with plastic wrap and let them rest while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
9. Remove the plastic and with a sharp knife, cut two little slits into each piece of dough.
10. Pop them in the oven and let them bake for 15-20 minutes until they are just golden brown. When they are done, take them out and let them rest on a cooling rack before either coating them with sugar or leaving them plain.
I used a combination of duck fat, lard, and butter, as well. I also made it in my mixer with a dough hook. I’m getting old. Kneading by hand is no longer fun and relaxing…
I was kinda expecting a softer bread, but, they were definitely crispy. Looking at the fat to flour ratio, it was definitely a “duh” moment. I also made half the recipe. I definitely didn’t need 12 of these for the two of us!
They were also really good and worked well with the stew.
So… Argentina was a success…
On to B………