Pastel de Papas

Pastel de Papas o Pastel de Carne (our version of Shepherd’s Pie)

Shepherd’s pie is a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato.

This dish is my kids’ favorite! Delicious, very easy to make, fast if you have left over mashed potatoes or beef (from your empanadas).

Easy to transport for your next put luck party.

Filling

1 pound ground beef

1 onion

1 green pepper and 1 red pepper

3 hard boil eggs

2 tbsp of butter

¼ cup green olives

¼ cup raisins

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

½ tsp. oregano

Parsley

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Mashed Potatoes

4 big potatoes

1 cup milk

4 tbsp butter

Salt

Instructions

Heat a skillet over medium heat with the oil and butter.  Add onions and peppers. When they are tender, add the beef and cooked through. Add olives, raisins and eggs, salt, pepper, oregano and parsley.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook potatoes and mash them with milk, butter and salt. Set aside.

Coat a 9 by 9 baking pan with cooking spray and layer the mashed potatoes with the beef. First spread the potatoes with a spatula, then the beef, then finish with potatoes. Bake for 40 minutes.

Variations:

You can add a can of tomatoes to the filling or use sweet potatoes instead of the potatoes or add sugar on top of the last layer of potatoes.

It is very good with butternut squash puree too!

Enjoy!

Carola

Carbonada Criolla (Beef and Squash Stew)

With the winter season approaching, and because today I am very cold! I could not think in anything else but “comfort food”; especially those delicious homemade meals my family and I used to eat in the cold winters in Argentina. One of them is the “Carbonada”. I am pretty sure that people in all countries have memories of warm or cold savors that “fill your soul” too.
The name carbonada refers to the cooking method. I was surprised to know that its origin is Belgian, Carbonade, and they made this with beer! Traditionally the stew was cooked on a pot over the flame very slowly until all the logs in the open stove are reduced to ashes, which in Spanish is “carbonizados “.
This beef stew is rather different; sweeten by the fruits and sweet potatoes, also savory, flavorful and meaty.
Serve this stew with rice, a salad, and nice red wine! I like it with crusty bread but most people use corn bread instead.
Carbonada could even be a fun dish for thanksgiving, served inside a whole pumpkin with the tip cut out to make a lid, and adding some pumpkin spices to it!

Ingredients:
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 pounds stewing beef, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 can stewed tomatoes (I don’t like to use cans so I just put some tomatoes in the blender with salt, pepper, basil, oregano and a little olive oil, and don’t forget a little sugar )
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 cups beef broth
• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 white potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large winter squash, peeled and cubed
• 2 chopped peaches and 2 chopped pears or 7oz. dried raisins
• 1 cup of corn (you can use frozen or just bake 2 ear corn in the oven at 400 for 20’ with salt, pepper and olive oil)
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. In a large pot, sauté the onions, green pepper, and garlic in the olive oil until golden and soft.
2. Add the beef and cook on medium-high heat, turning to brown all sides.
3. Add the tomatoes, beef broth, potatoes, sugar, squash, and fruits , and lower heat to a simmer.
4. Cover and simmer over low heat for one hour. Taste for seasoning, and season with salt and pepper. Add more beef broth if stew seems too thick.
5. Cook for about a half hour longer, until beef is tender. Stir in the corn, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more.
6. Serves 6 to 8.
Give this a try, I can promise it won’t be the last time you make it!
Other comfort food dishes that I really want to make this month are “Puchero” and “Locro”. Stay tune for these recipes!

Milanesas (breaded beef fillet)

Beside the famous empanadas, my milanesas are gaining popularity among my clients these days. This delicious "comfort food" is the  the most served dish in every home in Argentina. Moreover, all kids will be looking forward to go to a restaurant to order no other than milanesas con papas fritas (French fries).   
Milanesas are made of a thin slice of veal, beef or chicken tenderized and then dipped into beaten eggs, coated with bread crumbs. Served with a squeeze of lemon…fantastic hot or at room temperature.
We eat them in sandwiches or as a dish in different ways: a caballo (on horse) with fried eggs on top, Maryland (ham, cream of corn, roasted red pepper, and fried banana), Napolitana (ham, cheese and tomato sauce).
I recently made milanesas de cerdo (pork) with bread, tomato, lettuce, and of course! Chimichurri for a big party in Downtown San Diego. Guests made their own sandwiches. Delicious, different and economical option for finger food parties.

Milanesa Napolitana

 Chicken Milanesa Maryland

Milanesa a Caballo

The Italian Cuisine in Argentina

In Argentina the Italian imprint is everywhere shaping Argentine culture and character.
It is estimated that up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent (up to 60% of the total population) Wow!! The Italo-Argentineans are called “tanos” slang for “Italianos”.

Now, back to my subject: FOOD. Pasta can be found on nearly every restaurant menu in Argentina. Moreover, you will find there as many Italian restaurants as the Mexican's here in southern California. These "Cantinas" are a popular and economical option for fun evenings. Spanish and Italian cuisine inspire every day cooking, and added to the coming cold days here they also inspire me to prepare homemade raviolis.
This week my favorite: Peas Ravioli.

Pea Ravioli by Carola

Ingredients
1 ½ cups of fresh or frozen shelled peas
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lemon zest
12oz whole milk or low fat milk ricotta
Kosher salt, black pepper
2 tbsp. lemon infused olive oil (1 cup of olive oil with the zest of 3 lemons)
24 wonton wrappers

Directions
Heat the oil in a skillet, over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the peas and blanch them until just tender. (2-3 minutes)Transfer the peas, shallots, garlic, ricotta, salt and pepper to a food processor and puree.
Put a tsp. of pea mixture in the center of each wonton wrapper. Dampen the inside edges of wonton with water and fold, pinching around the borders to ensure that the ravioli is well sealed or you can make round ravioli topping with another dry wrapper; seal edges and trim using a 3-inch round cutter.
Bring another pot of hot water to a boil over medium heat.
Drop the ravioli in bathes and cook until tender (about 3 minutes). With a slotted spoon, transfer the ravioli to the lightly oiled serving plate. Drizzle with the lemon infused olive oil and top with few peas and lemon zest.

Fiestas/Parties!

After two weeks of hard work cooking (not complain) I am back to my dear and fun blog. On this post, I just want to “show of” all the great successful parties I cooked for those days. And remember, anything you see in these pictures is home made and fresh. If you like something and live in the San Diego area, just email me with your order!
My first big delivery was for a wine testing limousine party. More than 25 people were eating my empanadas (12 dozen of them) all the way down to Temecula… big success!

The following weekend, a company in Down Town ordered food for 65 employees. It looked like they loved my milanesa sandwiches and the empanadas. The same day I also delivered empanadas and Orzo salad for more than 20 teachers at a private elementary school in Del Mar.

Yesterday night, a soccer team (all adults) had "the pleasure" to taste my food
I cooked "Carne al Vino"; Orzo Salad and "Torta Pascualina".

Of course on Sunday I cleaned all day and got ready to start all over again this week!

I am hoping that my back will handle all this, it was hurting all week long. Two more sessions with my chiropractic and I'll be fine (at least that is what he says)