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.
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.
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.
Across the country menus feature a variety of pasta dishes that the Italian immigrants of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century brought with them. The rolling of the pasta dough is a true art and it is always a delight to see our chefs effortlessly rolling out the dough to make anything from lasagne sheets to fresh raviolis or spaghetti.
Follow the link for our basic pasta dough recipe and why not try making out sorrentino’s.
Argentines claim that there’s nothing in Italy quite like a sorrentino, making them an Argentine invention. Unlike their close relative the ravioli, which aims for a balance between dough and filling, sorrentino’s are plump and overstuffed. As with other stuffed pastas, both the sorrentino dough and the filling can be imaginatively flavoured to create an endless number of options. The choice of sauce also plays an important role in the dish. A favourite on the estancia is a butternut squash with a butter, sage and garlic sauce or for the more adventurous a blue cheese sauce.
Sage and Butter Filling - fresh sage, butter, garlic, dried herbs, salt and pepper
Blue Cheese - a strong blue cheese we like roquefort melted with a splash of double cream
Pasta Dough - for our recipe on how to make pasta click here.
To make the stuffing, cut the butternut squash in half down the middle and then roast in the oven, with garlic until it is soft and both will peel away from the skin.
Mash the butternut squash, sprinkling in salt, pepper, finely chopped chives and a handful of chilli flakes.
Begin rolling out the pasta using a pasta machine or rolling pin. If using a pasta machine roll through until about 4mm.
Use this mixture to fill the raviolis, whilst the pasta is cooking make a simple sauce.
For the sage and butter sauce, simply melt butter in a pan and throw in handfuls of fresh sage, dried herbs, chilli flakes and diced garlic..
If you want a blue cheese sauce, simply melt the blue cheese of your choice, with a piece of butter and a splash of cream.
Argentina’s passion for red meat and wine is closely followed by their love of pasta. Across the country menus feature a variety of pasta dishes that the Italian immigrants of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century brought with them.
1 egg per cup of flour with the addition of two extra egg yolk (1 cup of flour per person)
Olive oil
Salt
Water
Make a well in the centre of the flour, add the eggs then begin mixing the dough together. Adding tepid water and olive oil as you go. Only add a splash of olive oil - too much and it will be harder to roll as the mixture will split and become less flexible.
Once the dough has formed it should not stick to your hands when you touch it.
The pasta should then be placed in the fridge for at least one hour to set and chill before rolling.
Begin rolling out the pasta using a pasta machine or rolling pin. If using a pasta machine roll through until thin about 4mm.
