Argentinean Barbecue

Posted on 17. Mar, 2008 by in Spanish Culture

Argentineans love to eat “asados” o “parrilladas” (barbecues) and unlike Americans, Argentinean asados are done on a parrilla (grill) and include meats like chorizo, sweetbread (molleja), chitterlings, morcilla (blood sausage) and some regional meat cuts. The barbecue is almost always served with chimichurri, which is a popular sauce used also in many Latin American countries. Brazilians have their own version of the chimichurri sauce called vinagrete and it´s usually made with chopped up tomatoes, onions, parsley, olive oil, vinegar and salt.
Making chimichurri is not difficult at all and here´s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1cup lightly packed and chopped flat-leaf parsley
4x cloves of garlic, minced
1tsp salt
1/2tsp freshly ground peppercorns
1/2tsp chili, pepper, flakes
2tbl fresh oregano, leaves, chopped
2tbl shallot, minced
3/4cup olive oil
sherry vinegar
3tbl lemon, juice

Method: Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until well chopped, but not pureed. And it´s ready to be spooned over grilled meat or chicken.

Here´s some useful vocabulary:

Aceite de oliva – olive oil
Cebolla picada en trocitos chiquititos – really chopped up onion
Cucharadita – a little spoonful
Ajo – garlic
Perejil – parsley
Granos de pimienta – peppercorns
Shallots – chalotas

Enjoy your asado con chimichurri!

3 Responses to “Argentinean Barbecue”

  1. lillian 14 May 2009 at 8:07 pm #

    how would you write a thank you note for a dinner invitation that went wonderfuly and the food was great. the invite was from my boyfriends son and wife

  2. lillian 14 May 2009 at 8:08 pm #

    they are from argentina

  3. david carmona 15 May 2009 at 9:15 am #

    For the sake of family harmony, I will assume you mean your boyfriend’s son and the son’s wife. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
    You can write something along these lines:
    “Queridos ______ y ______:
    Mi más sincero agradecimiento por la cena a la que me invitaron el día [dd/mm]. La comida fue estupenda, y lo pasé muy bien con ustedes. Fue una experiencia maravillosa.
    Espero verlos de nuevo muy pronto.
    Muchas gracias,
    [your name]”

    I hope this is useful.


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