Making Watermelon kabobs

Even on a rainy day in the Argentina you can be reminded that it is almost summer time when you pass by a local fruit stand.  October is the beginning of the harvesting months for watermelon in the central zones of Argentina, which means right now is when you can buy the best and cheapest watermelons.

The sweet smell, bright red color, and juicy fruit is sure to put a smile on your face and bring a fun summer memory to your mind.  The wedge I bought from my local grocery store was so juicy that it was running down my chin as I took bites out of the wedge, until I finally realized I should probably cut it into cubes to avoid a massive sticky mess!

Enjoy watermelon cut up into wedges, cubes, or balls… or try one of these creative ideas:

Watermelon kabobs. Put cubes of watermelon on skewers, marinate them in any sauce, and grill them.  You can even add meat or chicken to the kabobs, but be careful because the fruit grills quickly

Watermelon ice cubes. Remove seeds, blend watermelon in a blender or juicer, and put the juice in ice trays.  Add to soda or water (sparkling or still) for a refreshing splash!

Vodka watermelon. Cut a hole into a whole watermelon just large and deep enough to insert a funnel.  Insert funnel and pour a vodka in, then let set for a day.  Pour more vodka in and let set again (repeat as desired).  Note: Adding the vodka a little bit at a time results in a more pleasant flavor than if you pour it all in at once, but that can be done also.  Once ready, slice up and serve!

The possibilities are endless, but unfortunately the season is not, so in Argentina right now is time to hurry up and get some scrumptious watermelon before it’s too late!

If you haven’t tried an alfajor yet (pronounced alpha-hor – for English Speakers)  stop reading this now (seriously) and try one immediately if you can find one =).  It really doesn’t matter where you buy one.  Yes the mmm-factor varies widely, but if you have never had an alfajor, now is the time to go out on a quest.

An alfajor, in its simplest form, is two cookies with dulce de leche sandwiched between.  There are many different variations (coated in chocolate or meringue, different fillings, etc), but I prefer to keep it simple with an alfajor de maicena (cornstarch).  Cornstarch in a cookie, one might ask?  Most certainly, I would answer.  It’s what gives the cookies that melt-in-your-mouth effect.  The cornstarch, in combination with the dulce de leche center, means that when you take a bite of an alfajor it crumbles on your tongue and slowly melts away, leaving you wondering why every cookie recipe doesn’t call for some cornstarch.

I finally made an attempt at homemade alfajores and the result was delicious (again, I firmly believe there are no bad alfajores).  Here is a basic recipe that is bound to have you cooking your own in no time.  This set of proportions will leave you with a crumbly cookie, which I prefer, but there are plenty of other recipes out there that will give you a more cake-like consistency.

Alfajores Made of Cornstarch

Alfajores de Maicena
Recipe courtesy of Rebecca Caro at FromArgentinaWithLove.com

These cookies are delicious with coffee or tea, dipped in chocolate or covered in powdered sugar, but they are also lovely just on their own.  They will last for several days in a container in the fridge with a tight-fitting lid.  The dough may also be frozen for future use.

2 sticks of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg plus 1 yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1-2 cups dulce de leche (homemade or store-bought, either works)
powdered sugar (optional)
coconut (optional)

Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and the sugar.  Add in the egg plus yolk and vanilla and beat over medium speed until incorporated.  In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch and baking powder together.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and continue mixing until it forms a consistent dough.  Remove the dough from the mixer and divide it into two balls.  Wrap the balls in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Unwrap the dough and roll it out (it will be cold and stiff at first) onto a floured surface.  Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness, then cut with a small round cutter (or a juice glass).  Repeat the rolling and cutting until you have used all the dough.  Place the cookies on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet, and bake for 15 minutes, just until the edges start to brown.

Let the cookies cool completely, then place a generous dollop of dulce de leche on one cookie, topping with another cookie to make a sandwich.  Press gently together.  Cover in sifted powdered sugar or roll the edges in coconut, if desired.

Dulce De Leche

Anyone who visits Argentina will quickly notice that people here are obsessed with the scruptiously sweet, smooth and creamy milk concoction that is dulce de leche.  And who can blame them? Dulce de leche bring much joy to Argentines.  Despite the fact that we relish it straight out of the jar, dulce de leche is best savored with cookies and pastries, flan, even toast, but the possibilities are endless.

Arrolladito de dulce de leche

Although you can buy dulce de leche at any local grocery store, making it at home need not be a daunting task.

The following dulce de leche recipe is one that combines the best ratio of ingredients (in my humble opinion).  Keep in mind that you can adjust the amount of sugar to suit your taste.  I prefer mine a little bit less sweet so I’ve reduced the sugar by approximately 100 grams in this recipe.  Although I doubt the dulce de leche will have time to expire before you lick the jar clean, I’d recommend eating it within one month.

Argentina pastry with dulce de leche

Ingredients

• 2 liters whole milk
• 600g sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda*

Add the milk, sugar and baking soda to a pot large enough so there is some space between the top of the milk and the top of the pot, and place it over medium high heat.  Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.  Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered at a bare simmer for approximately 2 hours.  It is important to keep the heat very low because the milk will boil over and the sugars may burn if you’re not careful.  When in doubt, turn the heat down (the worst that happens is you increase the cooking time).  Stir occasionally, but be careful not to stir in any foam that may have formed on the surface of the milk mixture.  After 2 hours check your mixture.  It should be turning a color similar to caramel.  You will most likely have to cook it for another hour or so, until it has a deeper color and the consistency of a loose but smooth caramel.  At this point you can either whisk the dulce de leche or strain it to make sure it is entirely smooth.  Once this is done, place it in a jar and let it cool.  When it is completely cooled, store the dulce de leche in the fridge.

*baking soda prevents the milk from curdling, leading to a smoother end product and creating a deeper caramel color

Teresita's Beef Empanada

I very much enjoy teaching the empanadas Argentinas cooking class at my home because I get a chance to present this very traditional dish to people from all over the world. The empanada is probably the most world-known dish from Argentina. There are many kind of Empanadas; beef empanadas, corn (humita) empanadas, ham and cheese empanadas (jamon y queso), onion and cheese empanadas (cebolla y queso), but probably the most well know type of empanada is the beef empanada.

how to fill empanadas, filling empanada recipe

Beef Empanada filling ingredients:

1 pound of lean ground beef (500 grams)
1 pound of chopped yellow onions (500 grams)
2 Tsp of butter
2 Tsp of corn oil
1/4 cup of raising
1/4 cup of chopped green olives
2 hard boiled eggs
4 chopped spring onions, only the green part
2 1/2 of aji molido (ground red dry spicy peppers)
1/2 Tsp sweet and hot paprika
2 1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin
Salt & Pepper to Taste

how to prepare picadillo

Preparation:

Heat the corn oil with the butter in a large frying pan with a heavy bottom. Sauteed the onion until they are transparent. Add the ground beef and cook over medium high heat, stirring often. Add the raising.  Season with salt and pepper. Add spices, and pour in 1/4 cup of hot water and let the filling boil for a couple of minutes. Once the beef is cooked, put into a bowl and keep in the refrigerator overnight.

filling the empanada

Empanada dough ingredients

1 pound all purpose flour (500 grams)
2 ounces of lard melted – You can substitute with butter (50 grams)
320 cc3 of salmuera – Salmuera is the mixture of 320 cc3 of hot water with one table spoon of salt left to be cooled)

Preparation:
Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and mix with all ingredients together forming a dough and let it rest for half an hour. Make small balls after you let it rest and roll them  into round shapes or use a large-mouth jar of 4″ diameter to cut them. Fold over and press with fingers to seal (repulgue technique covered at the class). An alternative to sealing with your fingers, you can seal by pressing the tines of a fork along the edges of the dough. Carefully place each empanada on a cookie sheet to bake.