Episode 5: Playing with Food

Argentinian Cuisine with Mirta Rinaldi

 

What we ate:

Mirta invited us into her home for an Argentinain cooking class and dinner party, where we made —

Spinach and cheese croquettes. Roasted potatoes  Shredded carrot and beet salad Grilled skirt steak with chimichurri sauce Pears poached in red wine

 

Argentinian Recipe to Try:

If there is one food that epitomizes Argentina, it's grileld steak.

"Beef is the numero uno food in the country. And we grill any kind of meat. From beef, to pork, to chicken, you name it. If it has legs, we put it on the grill."

 

And in Argentina, you don't eat steak without chimichurri sauce.

Balsamic Chimichurri

Chimichurri is Argentina’s most popular sauce for grilled meat. Most recipes use red wine vinegar, but Mirta preferes the sweetness of balsamic vinegar.

“Argentinian chimichurri uses only parsley. You can be creative and use cilantro, mint, arugula, anything. But Argentinians use only parsley in it. And we have garlic, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, dry oregano, olive oil, and balsamic. Argentinian chimichurri, the classic, uses red wine vinegar, but I use balsamic. I love that flavor.”

Pair it with a grilled skirt steak like we made, or Mirta’s Tira de Asado (Argentinean-style grilled beef short ribs), or any grilled meat or poultry!

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 ½  teaspoons crushed red pepper, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 small garlic cloves, grated 
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

 

Cooking Directions

1. Combine parsley, oregano, crushed red pepper, paprika, salt, black pepper, and garlic in a medium (1-pint) lidded jar or bowl. Stir together.
2. Add oil and vinegar. 
3. Seal jar, and shake (or stir mixture in bowl) until well combined.

Chimichurri can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

 

Argentinian restaurants to check out in New York City:

📍La Fusta — 80-32 Baxter Ave, Queens (Elmhurst)

📍La Esquina Criolla — 94-67 Corona Ave., Queens (Elmhurst) — the restaurant and butcher we never made it to!

📍Buenos Aires — 513 E 6th St, Manhattan (East Village)

📍Balvanera — 152 Stanton St, Manhattan (Lower East Side)

📍Mostrador NYC — 77 Walker St, Manhattan (Tribeca - inside Walker Hotel Tribeca)

 

 

League of Kitchens

Mirta is one of the many talented cooking instructors with the League of Kitchens. This amazing company recruits immigrant women in New York City to teach cooking classes from the comfort of their own home. Learn their family recipes through in-person or online classes.

 

 

Episode Credits

Hosted, Produced, and Edited by Diane Bezucha

Additional Editing by Christina Mitchell

Music Supervision by Rachel Helman

Original Music by Richard Tunstall

Additional Music

• “Flamenco Music” by Liborio Conti
• “Coronea” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Marisala, (2017)
• “Strings Galore” by Steve Oxen from the album Early Music, (2020)
• “Early Christmas Morning” by David Robson
• "Filing Away" by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Crab Shack, (2016)