Chimichurri Sauce

Buffet on Table: Week 3 -- Condiments from Countries

Day 12: Argentina -- Chimichurri Sauce
After 1 week of Combo meals and a week of Indian states, we continue our Buffet on Table marathon with Condiments from around the world as the theme for the week. When the themes were being finalized I wasn't really clear what a 'condiment' is. Chutneys and jams were the only condiments I knew and wasn't really sure if I would be able to find a week worth of condiment recipes from around the world to post.

A quick google search and a chat with Mir, clarified my doubts. Condiment is defined as 'something that is used to enhance the flavor of food' (Merriam Webster dictionary). According to Wiki, 'a condiment is a spice, sauce or other food preparation that is added to food to impart a particular flavor, to enhance its flavor or to complement the dish'.

I searched the internet and cookbooks with more clarity and found some delicious condiments from around the world. First up is this vibrant green sauce from Argentina called 'Chimichurri'. It is generally used for grilled meat and is originally from the Rio de la Plata, Argentina. It is made of finely chopped parsely, garlic, olive oil and white vinegar.

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Argentina - Creme Caramel with Dulche de Leche

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: A for Argentina
Dish: Creme Caramel with Dulche de Leche

This month, our blogging marathon group is setting off on a culinary journey around the world. I have to say this group is filled with hyper active women who get crazy ideas and thanks to our ever enthusiastic leader, Valli, we are able to channel all our energies into something interesting and exciting at the same time. So after our A-Z Indian cooking series, we started thinking on what the theme for the next mega marathon would be and A-Z International cooking series was the next obvious and logical choice.

Starting today, we will be visiting a different country and enjoying a dish or two from the local cuisine. I've always loved the concept of Passport to a certain country by making and enjoying their dishes right at home without even leaving your kitchen. Rachael ray used to make some of these passport style dishes in her '30 minute meals' years ago.

Deciding on one country to cook from a whole list was a difficult task for me. To make things simple, I decided to cook from countries that I'm really familiar with. Since my husband travels a LOT and gets a chance to taste the local food, I've cooked from the countries he visited. Also I'm lucky to have a very diverse group of friends from different countries. I've asked them to share their favorite recipes that I can cook for this series. For a few countries, I played it safe and cooked simple dishes that I'm sure the whole family likes. 

A for Argentina: Starting off the series with Argentina. It is located in the southeastern South America and one of the countries that my husband frequently visits. He likes the country, but says it is really difficult to get vegetarian food there. Not surprisingly because Argentina has the highest consumption of red meat in the world. But he found some authentic Italian restaurants that serve amazing Italian food that he enjoys a lot.

Argentina is famous for its Tango and for delicious milk based desserts like dulche-de-leche, alfajores and so on.

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