Today we’re off to Argentina—a country where meat is elevated to a cult, and every meal becomes a celebration. We’re making legendary barbecue, juicy pastries, and the most tender cookies with dulce de leche.
🥩 Asado
The legendary Argentine barbecue—thick beef short ribs cooked over an open flame or coals. The meat comes out with a smoky crust on the outside and juicy inside, bursting with beefy flavor.
Ingredients:
• Beef short ribs — 1.5 kg
• Coarse sea salt — 2 tbsp
• Freshly ground black pepper — 1 tsp
• Chimichurri for serving:
• Fresh parsley — 1 large bunch (50 g)
• Dried oregano — 1 tsp
• Garlic — 4 cloves
• Red wine vinegar — 3 tbsp
• Olive oil — 100 ml
• Chili flakes — a pinch
• Salt — to taste
Instructions:
Take the meat out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking—it should come to room temperature. Pat the ribs dry with paper towels. Moisture on the surface will prevent a crust from forming.
Light the coals or prepare the grill. If using a charcoal grill, wait until the coals are covered with white ash and the heat is medium-high (you can hold your hand over the grate for 3-4 seconds). For a gas grill, set the temperature to 200-220°C.
Generously rub the meat with coarse salt on all sides—the salt should form a thick layer. Add freshly ground black pepper. No other spices—Argentines value the pure taste of beef.
Place the ribs on the grate bone-side down. Grill for 15-20 minutes without flipping. The meat should sear, and the fat should start melting and dripping onto the coals, creating aromatic smoke.
Flip the ribs meat-side down. Continue cooking for another 20-25 minutes for medium doneness. Check with a thermometer: the internal temperature should reach 60-63°C. The meat should pull away from the bone easily but remain pink inside.
While the meat cooks, make the chimichurri: finely chop the parsley and garlic, mix with oregano, vinegar, oil, chili, and salt. Let it sit for 10 minutes—the sauce should become aromatic and slightly spicy.
Remove the meat from the grill, cover with foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes. During this time, the juices will redistribute, making the meat even juicier. Serve in whole pieces with chimichurri, fresh bread, and red wine.
💡 Fact: In Argentina, asado isn’t just a way to cook meat—it’s a full-blown social ritual. The asador (grill master) is an honored role at any celebration, and the cooking process can last 3-4 hours, accompanied by unhurried conversation.
🥟 Empanadas
Juicy baked pastries shaped like half-moons, stuffed with spiced ground beef. The crispy dough and aromatic filling make them the perfect snack or light lunch.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
• All-purpose flour — 400 g
• Cold butter — 100 g
• Warm water — 150 ml
• Salt — 1 tsp
• Egg for brushing — 1
For the filling:
• Ground beef — 500 g
• Yellow onion — 2 medium
• Pitted green olives — 100 g
• Hard-boiled eggs — 2
• Raisins — 50 g
• Ground cumin — 1 tsp
• Sweet paprika — 1 tsp
• Salt, pepper — to taste
• Vegetable oil — 2 tbsp
Instructions:
Make the dough: sift the flour into a large bowl, add salt. Cut the cold butter into 1 cm cubes and quickly rub into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the warm water and knead until elastic. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For the filling, finely dice the onion into 3-4 mm cubes. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the onion until soft and golden—about 7 minutes. The onion should become translucent and slightly sweet.
Add the ground beef, breaking up clumps with a spatula. Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes until fully done—the meat should lose its pink color and become crumbly. Add cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat.
Slice the olives into rounds, dice the eggs into small cubes. Add to the cooled meat along with the raisins. Mix—the filling should be moist but not runny. If too dry, add 2 tbsp of broth or water.
Roll out the dough to a thickness of 2-3 mm. Cut out circles 12 cm in diameter (use a plate or cutter). Place 2 tbsp of filling on one half of each circle, leaving 1 cm from the edge.
Brush the edges with water, fold the other half of the dough over, and press tightly with a fork to create the characteristic repulgue pattern. The pastries should be sealed airtight so the juice doesn’t leak during baking.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the empanadas on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush with beaten egg for a golden crust. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden—the dough should become crispy and golden, and the filling hot and aromatic.
💡 Fact: Every Argentine province has its own empanada recipe. In Tucumán, they’re made juicy and boiled; in Salta, they’re baked with hot peppers; and in Córdoba, sweet raisins are added for a flavor contrast.
🍪 Alfajores
The most tender shortbread cookies with a layer of dulce de leche (caramelized condensed milk) and coconut flakes around the edges. They melt in your mouth, leaving a sweet caramel aftertaste.
Ingredients:
• All-purpose flour — 200 g
• Cornstarch — 200 g
• Softened butter — 200 g
• Powdered sugar — 100 g
• Egg yolks — 3
• Vanilla extract — 1 tsp
• Baking powder — 1 tsp
• Salt — a pinch
• Dulce de leche — 300 g
• Shredded coconut — 100 g
Instructions:
Beat the softened butter with powdered sugar using a mixer on medium speed for 3-4 minutes—the mixture should become fluffy, light, and airy. Add the yolks one at a time, beating after each, then the vanilla extract.
Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Gradually fold the dry mixture into the butter base with a spatula or on the lowest mixer speed. The dough should come together into a soft ball, not sticky but still tender.
Wrap the dough in plastic, flatten slightly into a disk, and chill for 30 minutes. Cold dough rolls out more easily and holds its shape during baking.
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment to a thickness of 5 mm—no thinner, or the cookies will be too fragile. Cut out circles with a 5 cm cutter. You should get about 40 rounds (20 pairs).
Place the rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving 2 cm between them. Bake for 12-15 minutes—the cookies should stay pale, only slightly golden at the edges. Don’t overbake! Alfajores should be soft and crumbly.
Let the cookies cool completely on a rack—hot ones will crumble. Once cooled, spread a thick layer of dulce de leche (about 1 tbsp) on the flat side of one round. Top with a second round, pressing lightly—the caramel should ooze out the sides.
Roll the edges of each alfajor in shredded coconut, pressing it into the exposed caramel. The cookie should be generously coated around the entire perimeter. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days—they’ll get even softer and tastier over time.
💡 Fact: Alfajores came to Argentina with Spanish colonizers, but it was the Argentines who turned them into a national symbol. The country produces over 6 million alfajores daily, and the brand Havanna exports them worldwide.