Argentina: Maria Luisa Empanadas – Cultural Lunches
Cultural Lunches – Especial Edition for Latino Heritage Month: Argentina!
Event date: Oct. 21th, Thursday, at 12:30 on TEAMS
30 students that enroll will receive an authentic Argentine DULCE DE LECHE (milk derived product – contains lactose). The DULCE DE LECHE will be mailed to students houses.
You do not have to enroll to attend any of the cultural lunches. Enrolling will provide you a gift.
Maria Luisa Empanadas
“I remember my grandmother, Maria Luisa, making hundreds of empanadas for our Sunday family gatherings. The sound of Tango music playing in her Buenos Aires apartment and the delicious smell seeping from her kitchen are memories that live on through each batch of empanadas I make and share with the world”.
-Chef Rodrigo Cappagli
What is Chimichurri?
This most famous Argentine sauce was probably first mixed together by gauchos who used it to flavor the meat they prepared over open fires when on the pampas.
Today many households always have a bowl of chimichurri on the table to accompany whatever meat, empanada, or pasta dishes are being served that day. Chimichurri sauce is also used in the beloved choripán.
Chimichurri essentials
Chimichurri, like many condiments with a long history, has many variations but the purists stick to a preferred blend of chopped parsley, chopped garlic, oregano, red chili pepper flakes, and olive oil with a hint of vinegar.
(source: https://therealargentina.com/en/chimichurri-famous-sauce-of-argentina/)
What Chimichurri is not!
It’s not pesto
Chimichurri is not an Argentine style of pesto. Some look similar, but they have distinct flavors. Pesto contains basil, olive oil, garlic, nuts, and cheese. Chimichurri has oil, water, vinegar, parsley and assorted herbs and vegetables as well as other spices blended in. Pesto is affiliated with pasta. Chimichurri goes with grilled meats.
It’s not Argentine ketchup
No, chimichurri is not Argentina’s version of ketchup. Argentines use ketchup just as people in other nations use it. What you won’t see is people layering ketchup on their grilled meats.
It’s not a marinade
Chimichurri is not a marinade. It is seen mainly as a flavoring for grilled sausages, meats and offal. Like any sauce, chimichurri is used by some as a marinade, but it is one of dozens.
It’s not pureed herbs
Again, no. Pureeing herbs, vegetables and spices do not make chimichurri. For example, consider mayonnaise. Mayonnaise is an emulsion of blended oil, egg, and acidic liquids, like lemon or vinegar. Are all such mixtures containing oils referred to as mayonnaise? No. Throwing cilantro, limes, tomatillos, avocados and chipotles into a blender doesn’t make chimichurri.
(source: https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/argentina/articles/a-brief-history-of-chimichurri-argentinas-favorite-sauce/)