Cuisine: South America

CHIMICHURRI SAUCE by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

A famous, uncooked green-herbal piquant sauce most-often served with grilled meats.  It hails from South America (Argentina and Uruguay) and has many variations.  All variations include parsley and oregano and beyond that the ingredients used are somewhat open to personal interpretation.  I love the brightness of cilantro, so I always include it.  Sometimes I substitute fresh mint for the oregano and I always use red wine vinegar.

But… what I never, ever do is make the sauce in the blender or food processor!  Chopping the herbs by hand yields a thicker, greener, lush and in my opinion, better sauce.

Carbonada Criolla by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Beef & Squash Stew from Argentina

Forgive me for ushering out the summer prematurely, but the sight of squash and pumpkins already in the markets made me think of this dish. Once, long ago, I actually cooked this stew in a pumpkin shell that had been emptied of its mushy clumps of seeds. * (I’ll include directions for this at the end of the recipe.)

In Argentina, the stew was originally cooked in the embers of a big outdoor fire; very romantic!