Mar del Plata

Another city I visited with my family is Mar del Plata , my place of birth and where I grew up. I hadn't been back in 26 years, and though I found it to have grown a lot, it is still as beautiful as I remembered it. I was excited to show it to my kids, since all they knew about it was from family stories. This coastal port city on the Atlantic Ocean is famous for its beaches, surf, Casino, fresh seafood, alfajores "Havanna", and for those tennis aficionados… the hometown of Guillermo Vilas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermo_Vilas

It is the most visited seaside seasonal resort city in Argentina, being the vacation place of millions of Argentines from January to March, which is the southern hemisphere summer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar_del_Plata
What I liked best of everything I ate there was the "trucha"(trout) which I found very different from the one we get in San Diego . It was similar to salmon in texture and color. My other favorite was "churro relleno with dulce de leche" yummy!!!

Trout with Chimichurri sauce

and Mango Slaw

Ingredients:

3 whole trout with head and tail intact (2-1/4 lb.), scaled, boned

Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup oil, divided

Chimichurri sauce

Mango slaw:

1 large mango, peeled, pitted, and julienned

1/2-1 red pepper, julienned

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

6 Tablespoons fresh lime juice, from about two limes

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons Olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup thinly slices fresh mint leaves

Directions:

See my recipe for Chimichurri in this blog.

For the mango slaw, toss all ingredients together in a serving bowl. In a bowl whisk together lime juice, vinegar, oil, salt and red pepper flakes. Drizzle over mango mixture and cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about an hour.

Coat both sides of each fish with Panko crumbs. Heat 1/3 of oil in large skillet.. Add 1 fish, skin-side up, to skillet; cook 3 min. on each side or until fish flakes easily with fork. Transfer to platter; cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and fish, carefully wiping skillet with paper towel after cooking each fish.

TOP fish with Chimichurri and mango slaw.

Argentina

After an amazing trip back to my roots and a renewed culinary encounter in Argentina, I am back in San Diego excited to reproduce these dishes with a touch of my own, influenced by the flavors of Southern California. Having tried many dishes that I used to fully enjoy in the past, I realized that though they bring back memories of my childhood, my palate has adapted to more expansive flavors.
For those who have not yet experienced Buenos Aires , one thing that stands out is the many beautiful sit down coffee shops that you find any and everywhere. The espresso coffee is delicious and served in a demitasse and always accompanied by something sweet, be this a chocolate bonbon, a petit four, amaretti (an Italian cookie made of almond paste) or a tiny ice cream scoop. These cafés are points of meeting with friends and people usually spend long hours talking and catching up. Other places of gathering are the many ice cream shops, where people also spend long hours chatting. The ice cream is delicious and to me, the best I've ever had anywhere, including Italy .
So here goes a recipe for my favorite ice cream

"Dulce de leche" Dulce de leche ice cream

Ingredients:
2 cups of whole milk
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 pound dulce de leche
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup chopped pecans, almonds, walnuts, toasted (optional)
Directions: Bring milk, 1 tbsp of sugar and vanilla to a boil in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved. Cool it quickly in an ice bath. Whip cream with 2 tbsp of sugar until stiff peaks are just about to form. Fold into the cold milk and dulce de leche. Make sure the mixture is completely cold before freezing. At this point you can fold in pecans, almonds, chocolate chips, walnuts or anything that you can think of! Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, for at least 1 hour.