DIVIDED LOYALTIES—SOCCER AND DINNER

 

Smiles! Argentina is winning!

At halftime, Egypt had scored two goals against Argentina. Marina, Ben’s Argentine girlfriend, couldn’t stand to watch. She got up and left. As her car pulled away, Argentina scored! I yelled out the door “GOAL!!” She returned, put the Argentine blue and white jersey back on, cheered on her team’s win, and stayed for dinner. 

"Soccer is tribal, and love of one’s own team comes hand in hand with a desire to destroy the other," wrote Latin American soccer specialist, Marcela Mora y Araujo, in the New York Times. "But it also allows for camaraderie and solidarity after the contest."

What if you don’t have just one tribe? As an American, gone much longer from my country than Marina from hers, I was hopeful for that team. Now that the USA has been knocked out of the competition, I cheer for Spain. But I adore Leo Messi, so the Argentines get some love too. (I am posting this before today's Argentina-Switzerland game, which surely the Argentines will win.) As for underdogs, I was rooting for Morocco, knocked out by France, Spain’s next opponent in Tuesday’s semi-final match. Whatever will happen if the final is Argentina versus España?

Ben grills meat, vegetables. (Marina Caviese)

In anticipation of the Argentina game we had a small-scale version of Argentina’s famed asado—a meal of grilled meat. An Argentine butcher was found (Carnes Pampa, Fuengirola, Málaga). And the classic pieces of beef, vacío, entraña, and tira, were acquired. 

With near 100ºF temperature in the afternoon, we decided against a wood fire. We fired up the gas grill as the sun was going down. 

Vacio, roasted to medium.

The vacío is a thick piece with a cap of fat that includes part of the flank, part of the flap and the inner part of the skirt. The idea is to roast it low and slow over indirect heat until the fat is crisped and the meat cooked medium, still juicy. The meat is fine-grained. 

The entraña is skirt steak, a long, narrow strip cut from the outer skirt. Many Spanish butcher shops now carry entraña. Because it is well-marbled, it stays juicy when quickly seared to medium-rare (over high heat, 3 to 5 minutes per side). 

The tira de asado is a cross-cut section of the short ribs, including bone and some fat. It is chewy and juicy, very beefy.

Of course I made chimichurri, the garlicky, herby, slightly spicy, Argentine sauce, to go with the meat. I used the recipe from Francis Mallmann’s Seven Fires. Marina declared my rendition of chimichurri a winner—though, where she comes from, it would be made with sunflower or other neutral vegetable oil instead of olive oil. (With the addition of cilantro, I turned leftover chimichurri into Moroccan chermoula to serve with fish on the day of the match between Morocco and France.) 

For sides, I made my favorite grilled vegetable dish, Catalan escalivada, and smashed potatoes with tapenade crust, a recipe also from Seven Fires. I served a selection of salads—kidney bean-green bean and corn; watermelon-feta cheese, and minted carrot with pine nuts and dates. 

Asado meats, smashed potatoes, and bean salad. (Photo by Marina Caviese)

Grilled meats, chimichurri, and escalivada.

Vacio is grilled to perfection--medium, juicy. (Video by Marina Caviese)

Chimichurri (Argentine Herb and Garlic Sauce for Grilled Meats

(Adapted from the recipe in Seven Fires, Grilling the Argentine Way by Francis Mallmann with Peter Kaminsky and Donna Gelb; Artisan, 2009.)

The recipe in Seven Fires says to mince the garlic and herbs. I chose to use a mini food processor. I used Argentine ají, crushed red chile (fairly mild), instead of red pepper flakes.

Prepare the chimichurri a day in advance of serving so the flavors blend. The chimichurri can be kept in a jar with tight-fitting lid refrigerated for 2 to 3 weeks. Serve it with grilled meat, fish, vegetables, potatoes. 

1 cup water

1 tablespoon coarse salt

8 cloves peeled garlic

1 cup packed fresh parsley

1 cup fresh oregano

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes or ají

¼ cup wine vinegar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Bring the water to a boil, add the salt and stir to dissolve. Cool.

Mince the garlic, parsley, and oregano and combine them in a bowl with the red pepper flakes. Whisk in the vinegar and oil. 

More World Cup fare:

Low-Country Shrimp Boil, Costa del Sol Style 

Octopus and Potatoes, Galician Style 

World-Class Wings 

 
 

This cookbook explores the fascinating story of the deep and lasting influences that Islamic culture has left on modern Spanish cooking. 

Author and Spanish cooking expert Janet Mendel tells the story of the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking through 120 recipes and photographs for modern-day dishes, from salads and vegetables to fish, poultry and meat to sweets and pastries, that trace their heritage to foods served in medieval times.  (Hippocrene Books)    

 Order on IndiePubs (USA) 

Use PROMO CODE HIPPOCRENE40 for 40% off on all Hippocrene titles at IndiePubs online bookstore.

***

Order on amazon (USA)

Order on amazon.es  (Spain)

Order on amazon.co.uk (UK)

Order on amazon.com.au (Australia)

(If you order on Amazon, please give my book a review!)

***

Order from Kitchen Arts & Letters

Order on ark.no (Norway)

OCTOPUS ORACLE

The oracle has spoken. A German octopus named Paul gained fame by predicting that Spain would win the soccer World Cup last Sunday, and, so, it has come to pass.  (Paul's picture here).

VIVA ESPAÑA!

In spite of the respect for a cephalopod so savant, so sporting, consumption of octopus tapas in Spain has skyrocketed in the past week or two. Especially in Galicia (northwestern Spain), where it is a favorite in tapa bars and at summer village festivals.

Luckily for me, as I hadn’t come up with another connection between food and football. To celebrate the victory, here’s a typical Galician recipe for preparing octopus and a Mediterranean one for a chopped salad.

Octopus and Potatoes, Galician Style
Pulpo con Cachelos a la Gallega

Makes 8 tapa servings.

1 whole octopus, weighing about 2 ½ pounds, fresh or frozen
        (or about 1 pound frozen cooked and cleaned octopus, thawed)
1 slice onion
2 bay leaves
2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 ½ tablespoons pimentón (paprika)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Blanch the thawed octopus in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain. Bring another pot of water to a boil with the slice of onion and the bay leaves. Add the octopus and let it cook at a simmer for about 1 hour. It should be tender, just a little chewy.

Remove and let it cool slightly.

Cut the potatoes in half and add them to the same water in which the octopus cooked and cook them until tender.

When the octopus is cool enough to handle, slide off the pinkish skin and discard, if desired. This is optional; many prefer to leave the skin. With scissors, cut the octopus into bite-size pieces. Arrange them on wooden plates with the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pimentón, garlic and drizzle with the oil.

Octopus Salad
Ensaladilla de Pulpo

Once you’ve cooked your octopus, you can serve it in quite a few guises. This salad, sometimes called salpicón, can also be made with shrimp or other shellfish.

Serves 8 as a tapa; 4 as a starter.

1 whole octopus, weighing about 1 ½ pounds OR 1 cup cooked and diced
    octopus
1 ½ cups diced fresh tomatoes
½ cup chopped green pepper
½ cup chopped green onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons extra virign olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cook the octopus as in the preceding recipe. Use scissors to dice it. Combine in a bowl with the tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, oil and lemon juice. Stir to combine.

The salad can be prepared in advance, omitting the tomatoes, and refrigerated until serving time. Add the diced tomatoes at the last minute, as refrigeration dulls the taste of fresh tomatoes.