As I have mentioned a few times before, it’s not surprising to see a few antipasto appetizers offered to those who need to calm their hunger pangs until the time comes to serve meat at an asado. Hard salami, artisanal cheese loaded with black peppercorns or ají molido, and pickled artichoke hearts are just a few. Pickled, brined, or marinated fruits and vegetables may even show up on the table to accompany the succulent meats. Their tart and salty flavors serve as a refreshing break from the constant flow of meat, offal, and sausage.

Except for perhaps restaurant coverage, when the topic of food in Argentina is covered by guide books, travel articles, and blogs the authors usually stick to the usual suspects like beef and huge steaks, pizza, pasta, and empanadas. I guess I’m not helping too much with a site that is largely dedicated to cooking beef and asados but, you know, that has always been the mission of this site. Therefore, I’m going to go off topic here for a bit–like that has never happened before–and list some of the many gourmet and artisanal products that are produced by hard working small businesses around the country. Whether they were formed by families or friends, the visions were clear: to offer delicious gourmet products, inspired by regional cuisines from Argentina or around the world.

Let all of us know! I have been thinking about building a directory list of sorts for some time but it has always been on the back burner (just like everything else!). Time to whip something up.
So, if you would be so kind, help your fellow asado lovers out and let us all know where [...]

You might have a hard time finding buñuelos de espinaca on the menus of restaurants in Argentina but once in a while, for some, they can be part of a lunch or dinner or, simply act as a savory snack to kill the hunger. If you know someone who hates spinach, give them a taste of these and I’m sure they will change their mind.

Sometimes I wonder how many countries or cultures there are in the world that do not have some sort of rice pudding dish as part of their cuisine. In Argentina, bring up arroz con leche and someone is sure to declare that their abuela (grandmother) or mother has the best recipe. Some may stick to the basics of milk, rice, sugar, and salt. Others may add a splash of vanilla extract, a pinch of lemon zest or cinnamon, or even a dollop of dulce de leche. Arroz con leche is serious comfort food, perfect after a Sunday lunch or asado.

Tapa de nalga (top round cap/topside cap) is the cap of the top round cut that comes from the round primal cut. The various cuts from the round primal are fairly tough and lack intra-muscular fat, therefore, are better off left to slow cooking. Due to the lack of fat, round’s cuts are great for milanesas or beef jerky and top round in particular is a good subsitute for brisket when making pastrami. Top round is usually sold “cap off” in many countries, with the cap discarded for other purposes, leaving a nice clean “roast” of top round. However, this is Argentina and discarded cuts tend to make their way on to the parrilla. Tapa de nalga is not a leading parrilla cut but it turns out reasonably well if cooked properly.

Some friends recently finished an extension to their house in order to have an area for an indoor parrilla and extra storage space. I guess you could call the new room a quincho garage. Anyway, they wanted to break in the new grill and what better way to do that than invite a group of friends and co-workers over for a big asado–about 15 of us in total.

Perhaps some great news for those who bombard me with questions about how to acquire certain types of grills, ideal for asado, in the U.S.. Well, at least the news should be good for those who have been looking for simple or adjustable features in a grill.

Milanesa, to put it simply, is Latin America’s version of cotoletta and wiener schnitzel. Thin slices of veal or beef tenderized with plenty of whacks from a mallet, dunked in beaten eggs, liberally coated with bread crumbs–perhaps mixed with a little parsley and garlic, and finally fried in hot oil. In Argentina they can be found on the menus of most restaurants offering national cuisine, sold as ready-to-cook in butcher shops and supermarkets, or made from scratch by the family chef for lunch or dinner. Most often served with either fried or mashed potatoes, milanesa is serious comfort food. The most popular cuts of beef for milanesa in Argentina are round, sirloin tip, eye of round, and rump. I should cover milanesas more in the future but for now I present you the sandwich de milanesa.

From rotiserías (take-out joints) to cafés offering classic porteño fare to pricey fine dining establishments, in many parts of Argentina a platter of crispy–sometimes not so crispy–fried squid rings served with a couple wedges of lemon is not hard to find. Every place has their own unique recipe that ranges from a simple dusting of flour and salt to bubbly batters containing milk, eggs, or beer. Often offered as an appetizer, rabas fritas can work just was well as an entrée if you want to take a break from the beefy stuff. When and how these tasty morsels appeared in fried form on plates in Argentina is anyone’s guess. I’m sure the Spanish and Italian influence had a little to do with that and if you didn’t know, there is an abundant supply of squid off of Argentina’s coast.