Los Potreros
The History of the Kitchen

We have been welcoming guests to Los Potreros (The Enclosures) since the 1940s and our kitchen provides everyone who stays here with an insight into the delights of Argentine cuisine. Visitors discover the art of making and savouring traditional mate tea, the secrets to getting the best flavours from Argentina’s famous beef, and the family recipes behind the sumptuous cakes that are baking continuously in the original wood-burning oven. The kitchen is, without a doubt, the heart and soul of the estancia.The pleasures of Argentine food are also extended to the outdoors, with guests enjoying their meals under the shade of the verandah or a nearby tree. Their friendly chatter over the dining table is accompanied by the lively chirping of monk parakeets in the branches above.

The History of the Kitchen
Misc.
Los Potreros
Summer in the Kitchen - Part 1
Summer in the Kitchen - Part 1
LosPotsKitchen
Los Potreros
Our Sustainable Kitchen

Every chef across the world, pays close attention to what goes into their food but here at Los Potreros we are also concerned about what our food is doing to the environment. Our chefs have always had a “no waste mentality” and now more than every they are minimizing what they throw out and developing a menu to ensure they can continue to cut down what little waste we still have, throughout the last few months we have begun to test out new ideas with great success.

Our Sustainable Kitchen
LosPotsKitchen
Los Potreros
Chimichurri

Chimichurri is traditionally made of finely-chopped parsley, garlic, oregano, oil and white vinegar. Though there are regional variations, it is also a recipe which is usually kept as a closely guarded secret. Chimichurri is not a marinade as argentines tend to use salt as the only seasoning on a piece of beef but it is used as a condiment at any asado.

Chimichurri
LosPotsKitchen
Los Potreros
A Los Potreros Asado
A Los Potreros Asado

Bread

Pan Dulce

One of our favourite sweet breads is ‘Pan Dulce’ and it is the perfect accompaniment to some Argentine cheese and is often cooked at our evenings in the kitchen. Typically we use dark muscovado sugar, which is a cane sugar containing molasses - the reason behind its dark colour and texture which resembles wet sand. 

 

500g Self Raising Flour

1 Egg

25g Butter

Cup of Mate Cocido Tea

75g Dark Muscovado Sugar

150g of Dried Fruit

75g Almonds

75g Hazelnuts

 

Mix all the dry ingredients except the flour. 

Add butter and egg, mix with hands throughly. 

Add flour and tea accordingly to make the mixture into a dough, it is ready when it no longer sticks to your hands. 

Once the dough is ready, form it and place on a baking tray which is sprinkled with a little flour to ensure it does not stick during the cooking process. 

Cook in oven of 180ºC/355ºF until a skewer comes out clean. 

This usually takes around 20 minutes.

Bread

4 tsp yeast

2 tsp flour

1 tsp white sugar

1 tbs salt

2 tbs sunflower oil

1kg white flour + extra flour for forming and adding to mixture if necessary.

Warm water 

Mix yeast, 2tsp of flour and sugar in a mug and add a splash of warm water, mixing to form a paste. Allow mixture to rise to top of mug before continuing. 

Tip all flour into bowl and make a well in the centre. Once yeast has risen place in centre of the flour and mix. Incorporate the oil. Add warm water and continue to make a dough. Add flour and water, until the dough becomes less sticky and does not remain on your hands. 

Kneed the dough to gain elasticity.

Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise somewhere warm (above an oven works well!). 

Leave the dough until it doubles in size. 

Sprinkle the counter with flour and roll the dough out and form. 

Cook in the oven at 190ºC/370°F, until it goes golden brown and when you tap the underneath it sounds hollow. 


*if the weather outside is cold the oven will take longer to heat and therefore bread will take longer to make. When the weather is hot the oven will heat much faster so it  is worth keeping a close eye on the bread to ensure it doesn’t overcook.  To check it is properly cooked tap the base once removed from oven and it will sound hollow.