Photo of the Day -- El submarino

This is one of those genuine Argentine treats you can order in the afternoons. This is a submarino, which is a version of hot chocolate. You order the drink and usually the waiter brings you piping hot milk and a chocolate bar--either already in the milk or waiting for you to drop it in on the side as in the photo. After several minutes and a little stirring, the chocolate melts creating a wonderful hot beverage.

My friend Lindsay is addicted to them. According to her, the best part is that the chocolate doesn't completely dissolve. Then at the end you're left with a "chocolaty" treat with all of the little chocolate pieces that float to the bottom. I'd have to agree; it's quite tasty.

I don't know why it gets its name as a submarino. However sometimes the chocolate is shaped like a submarine. However since I've been looking for one of these elusive bars of chocolate, I haven't been able to find one!

Make one of these tasty Argentine treats at home to give you a version of the Porteño life!

Pictures courtesy of my friend Ronald, since I didn't have my camera with me.

Learning how to make Empanadas

This is María, my host mother, teaching me how to correctly fold up these Argentine delicacies.

This recipe is changed depending on the tastes of the family. Essentially this is the basic outline that is adjusted to taste:

Empanadas de Carne

• Ground beef
• Onions, diced
• Hard Boiled Eggs, chopped
• Raisins, white raisins are the more traditional (los pasos)
• 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika (pimenton dulce)
• 1/2 tsp. cumin (comino)
• Salt to taste.
• * I would add black pepper to adjust it a bit more to the American palate. Argentines usually use exclusively white pepper and they don't like spicy food. I often times add pepper so that it tastes seasoned to me. It's not 100% Argentine, but I know I have purchased them before at different places with pepper in the meat mixture.
• **Pizza spice (espica pizza) This is something she only adds sometimes. I think if I were substituting I would whip out a mix of oregano, basil, and seasoned salt.

Chop onion and egg finely. Begin by sweating the onions with a bit of butter or oil. Add beef and brown with salt (and pepper). After its browned, add chopped egg and raisins. Also add the spices and let heat for 10 mins for the flavors to permeate. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.

Since this is a recipe many people cook here, the seasonings are always adjusted to taste. I suggest that you experiment with this to find a spice mixture that's appealing to you.

Let mixture cool until its warm and fill in empanada shells. I don't have a recipe for them now, but I will be getting one of them soon :-D

Here is a close up of the folding process. You'll see how important it is to pinch the dough to seal the empanada following up with creasing the empanada with this scalloped edge.

You can substitute chicken breast for the ground beef. If you do this I suggest cooking the chicken breast in a little water and with chopped peppers (red or green). Remove the peppers and allow chicken breasts to cool. Shred the chicken breasts with a fork, and follow the same recipe for the traditional "carne" empanadas.

These empanadas I made all by myself. María prefers to cook them twice. This is the first stage.

I hope this won't be the last empanada post. I hope to dig up some more recipes and fill you in on my experiments along the way, too.

Making Milanesa

Mattias, son of María, taught me how to make milanesa this weekend. I thought it might be cool to add a few Argentine recipes to my blog. You could bring Argentina into your home with this traditional Argentine dish. Milanesa is served in almost every cafetería and restaurant in Argentina and there are many variants on this dish that you'll see in every restaurant or confitería (cafeteria to buy lunch) in the city.

Recipe - La receta
Marinade:
3 eggs
2 Tbsp. Red Vinegar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder or minced garlic
Pinch of Salt
1 1/2 tsp. parsley or oregano
1/4 tsp. celery salt
Black pepper to taste

Order a chuck roast or sirloin roast (deboned) to be sliced thin. You want the slices between 1/4 and 1/8 of an inch. If you can't get the beef sliced that thin, you can also pound a 1/2 slice into thin slices appropriate for milanesa by putting the beef in between wax paper or seran wrap and beating the meat with a meat hammer. This is a perfect activity to do on a day when you're stressed :-D

It is very important that the meat is very thin so that it flash fries very quickly. This is the important part of a milanesa!

Matias is trimming the fat off of the milanesa. He runs his knife through any flat veins to cut them so the milanesa will stay flat when fried.

Put the meat in the marinade mixture and mix it thoroughly. Refrigerate covered for 1-4 hours before proceeding to the next step.

Matias is mixing the meat with the marinade.

Put plain bread crumbs in a pan and using a fork take one milanesa at a time and coat it with the breadcrumbs.

Matias is breading the Milanesas with bread crumbs. He's careful not to touch the wet milanesa with his dry hands...that way you don't have to get quite as messy.

You can either Freeze the milanesas at this point or fry them until they're golden brown (usually 3-4 mins per side). If you decide to freeze them, I would suggest putting wax paper between them.

Some other ideas:

• It is very popular to serve this on a sandwhich with lettuce and tomatoe.
• Milanesas can be eaten as is. To be truly Argentine, drizzle lemon juice, chimi-churri, mayo, or ketchup.
• Milanesa Napolatina includes a slice of tomato and cheese over the milanesa just after it's fried, sometimes they'll also add a slice of ham or a hard boiled egg, too.
• It is also common to see Milanesa de Pollo (chicken milanesa) or Milanesa de berenjena (eggplant). For chicken they pound chicken breasts thin and repeat the same process and for Eggplant the key is to slice them very thin before marinating.
  

Hope to try to make this wonderful Argentine Meal! Buen Provecho! Chau!