Chimichurri

I felt like to have an Argentinean Christmas Eve and you cannot have great meat without the chimichurri sauce. Here is the recipe I tried.


Ingredients:
* 1 cup of mixed oil (half olive and half sunflower, for instance)
* 1 cup of red wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped oregano
* 1 tablespoon paprika
* 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
* 1/2  tablespoon of cumin
* 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
* 1 medium ripe tomato, finely chopped
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley
* 1 teaspoon of thyme
* Pinch of black pepper


Mix well all the ingredients together and let it rest in the fridge for a few hours. When the steaks are ready, pour a little bit of the mixture on the meat. 


Preparation: 10 minutes

Creamy Guacamole

I have been preparing this guacamole with a twist for 20 years and I still love it. It is mild and creamy, really refreshing in summer. It can be used as a companion for fajitas or quesadillas or as a dip.

Ingredients:

* 1 ripe avocado

* 1/2 medium size onion

* 1 plain non fat yogurt

* Juice of 1/2 lemon

* 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard

* Pinch of salt

Peel the avocado, retire the seed and chop it in pieces. Peel the onion and cut it in 2 or 3 pieces, to crush it more easily. Put all the ingredients in a food processor, crush them and then puree them, until smooth.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Bechamel sauce

We use Bechamel sauce to top lasagna and cannelloni instead of tomato sauce. It is a wonderful sauce to use in the oven, not only with pasta but also with vegetables. Although popular in Spain, bechamel comes from France. It was named after the Marquis de Béchamel, Louis de Béchameil, marquis de Nointel (1630–1703), chief steward of Louis XIV. 


Ingredients:
* Half onion, finely chopped
* 2 cups of milk
* 1/2 cup white flour
* 3 tablespoons butter

* Pinch of salt

* Pinch of black pepper

* Pinch of nutmeg


In a saucepan, melt the butter with low heat and once it is bubbling, add the finely chopped onion. Cook the onion until it gets color. Then add the flour and stir it, until its color is sandy. If you are familiar with Cajun cooking, think roux. Then, slowly, start adding milk, stirring non stop. Keep that low heat. You do not want clumps. Clumps of flour are evil. Use a whisker if you feel it does not get smooth enough with a wood spoon. Keep on adding milk until the sauce starts forming. It is going to be thick, but it needs to be manageable: if you grab the saucepan by the handle, turn it upside down and the sauce does not move, something is not right (don't try it, it is only an example!). If it gets too liquid, add a pinch of flour. Too thick, a little bit of milk. Play with flour and milk until it gets the right consistency. Then season with a pinch of salt, black pepper and nutmeg (don't overdo the nutmeg!) and take it off the heat. Ready to go!


Preparation time: about 10 minutes

"Macarrones" (Penne) with meat sauce

With this recipe we are lost in translation. What we call "macarrones" in Spain are not your "macaroni" here. More like penne or ziti, take your pick.

INGREDIENTS ( for 4 ): 
* 2 cups of penne or ziti

* 1/3 pound ground pork

* 1/3 pound ground beef

* 1/3 pound ground veal

   (you can leave the veal out if you want to, but it is important to mix pork and beef, beef alone 

     would be very dry)

* 2 Tablespoons butter

* 1 cube or 1 teaspoon of beef bouillon

* 1 finely chopped onion

* 1 can of crushed tomatoes, without additives or 3 medium fresh tomatoes to crush in the food              

   processor

* Pinch of salt

* Pinch of black pepper

* Olive oil

* Parmesan cheese

Fill a pot with cold water. Let it boil. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, salt and a cube of beef bouillon to the boiling water, then add the pasta; keep on boiling like crazy, stirring the pasta to avoid clumps.  Do not cover. Pasta usually is ready between 8-12 minutes, keep on checking until you achieve the right consistency. Some people like it "al dente", (firm but not hard), I like it overcooked (so sue me).  

In the meantime, heat olive oil in a saucepan and once hot, stir the finely chopped onion until it changes color. Then add the meat and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir for a few minutes and add the tomato. Cook until the meat looks well done. Drain the pasta, and top them with the meat sauce (don't drown it in sauce! pasta cannot swim well!). Serving suggestion: sprinkle some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Preparation time: 30-45 minutes

Allioli sauce

The allioli sauce is excellent to go along with grilled lamb, baked potatoes, rabbit, fish, muscles, plain bread... just get your mints for that pesky garlic breath. The real allioli is only garlic and oil, but it is extremely difficult to make. This sauce has its origins in the old Egypt and Rome. In Catalonia, the version that is widely spread is a garlic flavored mayonnaise and this is the recipe that follows. 


INGREDIENTS
*1 egg
*2-3 cloves of garlic
*Extra virgin olive oil
*Salt


To prepare the sauce, I use a hand blender. My grandmother used a morter and pestle, but I am not that skilled and probably I will hurt myself, that's how I roll. Throw in the container you are going to use the peeled cloves of garlic ( the number of cloves depends on how much you like garlic, but I would not do less than cloves ), 1 egg, olive oil (about 1 inch deep) and a pinch of salt. Blend all together, adding more oil little by little as necessary, until the sauce thickens. It can take a lot of oil to get the right thickness, the best method is to add about 1/2 inch of oil every time and blend for a couple of minutes, then check the consistency of the sauce. The sauce should look like mayonnaise when it is ready. If you want to go for the pure allioli, get your morter and pestle, wait until you are having a bad hair day, then mash the heck out of the garlic (anger management) and start adding oil almost drop by drop, slowly, until the paste thickens. Good luck with it :o)


Preparation time:  10 minutes