From Argentina With Love

Argentina Photo of the Week #5-General Alvear

Driving west out of Bowen, fields of alfalfa or grapes slowly give way to feed stores and warehouses.  An ultra modern Shell gas station sits as a sentinel on the south end of town.  As the road gets wider and is lit by street lamps, traffic becomes more congested-soon, you're weaving in and out of traffic like a local.  Lanes are virtually disregarded, scooters and cars intermingle with trucks from area farms. 

Bicycles are everywhere-along the shoulder of the road, or mixed in with the cars; crossing into traffic.  It's not uncommon to see a young mother, riding a bicycle with her child sitting sideways on the cross-bar or on the handlebars of the bicycle .  Often the 'driver' is also smoking a cigarette and has her shopping bags dangling from the handles of the bike.   

The downtown area of  General Alvear  is a time warp.  As these photos show, everything was built in a Peronista flurry of prosperity, and has been more or less preserved and kept up, but not modernized.

The flower shop above is where I got my bridal bouquet-a clutch of  salmon and white anemones-for about $7.  The shop is full of black buckets of cut flowers, silk and real plants, and along the wall behind the register, picture upon picture of saints and the Virgin Mary, (with the occasional family baby photo) almost to the effect of wallpaper.  Silvia the florist lives in the back of the shop, which is not uncommon-the store front gives way to an apartment that looks totally different than the shop.

Alvear has many things Bowen doesn't: shoe stores, cafes, restaurants, supermarkets and specialty shops, florists, heladerias, bookstores, furniture shops, a casino, a nightclub, fabric stores, clothing shops. There's a university, too, where my brother-in-law teaches business and economics.  The town is divided by a man-made irrigation ditch that has been made into a scenic attraction by adding a water wheel to it. 

The photo above is of the main round-about in the center of town.  It's near the municipal buildings, town square, church and bank.   This town is almost unknown to those from outside (it's not exactly a destination), and except for the occasional passing tourist on the road to Mendoza, no one bothers to come here. For the people in the surrounding rural areas, the city is their link to the rest of the world.   

Chicken and Potatoes-Pollo con Papas

Dusk falls in Bowen and the window is open, letting in the occasional cool breeze from outside and letting the heat out of the kitchen.  Out in the yard, Indio, my in-laws' crop-tailed brown mutt, runs along the fence, barking furiously.  People call greetings to each other in the dusty road, I can hear the buzz of a scooter as it zips by.  Sometimes gypsies come along, selling pillows door-to-door.  Maybe they are drawn to my in-laws' door by the delicious smell drifting out the open window-the smell of pollo con papas. 

Evenings in Bowen we meet around the table, a much more relaxed and quiet affair than lunch.  At lunch, when my brother and sister in-law and their son are over, it's noisy with the ladies bustling  around the kitchen, chatting and setting the table, and the men watching their futball, complaining about the scores.

But at dinner, it's just the 3 of us:  my in-laws and I; the baby has gone to sleep and I'm visiting alone.  When pollo con papas  is served, we are all quiet, except for the sound of cutlery on the plates, eating and savoring every bite because it's just so good, there's no space in our mouths for conversation.  (Argentinians eat with such pleasure, such gusto-they savor and enjoy and exclaim.  Whereas many of us in the US eat and eat, and never feel full-because we don't enjoy it enough!)

We end up stabbing the last few potatoes with our forks right out of the pan they were cooked in. "Asi-Rebe!  Like this, Rebe!" My father-in-law, Carlos, tells me, demonstrating how he takes a potato with his fork and pushes it all over the bottom of the pan, getting all the salt and juice on the potato before popping it in his mouth.  His hands are huge around the fork, hard-working farming hands, all thick fingers and rough skin.  They're hands that have created-coaxed life out of the earth and harvested it. 

Evenings in Bowen are quiet, because there isn't a movie theater (the next town over used to have one, but it closed last year, because not enough people went, preferring to watch cable TV).  There isn't a bookstore, a library, or even a restaurant-the first supermarket just opened last year. (Before it was the local grocer or your own farm or a drive to the next town.)

So evenings are for family.  After dinner, we sit around nursing glasses of Quilmes beer, watching old movies.  Rita Hayworth, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Grace Kelly-my in-laws know them all.  We watch-Gary Cooper, Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe-it's non-stop TCM.  Only all the movies are dubbed in Spanish (no subtitles) so half the time it's all I can do to follow the plot line.  But our bellies are full of delicious food, relaxed and full, we watch romances, dramas, and comedies from times past-a simpler time, perhaps; and enjoy the company of family.  As they say in Argentina-Panza llena, corazon contento-Full belly, happy heart.

                                              Receta por Pollo con Papas a la Florencia

                                                       Florencia's Chicken and Potatoes

Florencia made this for me as one of my first meals the first time I met her, and I had never tasted anything like it!  Since then, it's one she knows will be a hit, and she makes it anytime we visit.  It's one of the most satisfying meals I can think of-and the simplest to prepare!  The secret is the white wine-it goes the potatoes an extra tang.

one whole chicken, cleaned

coarse salt

pepper

one lemon

olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

5 cloves garlic, peeled but still whole

5 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 'fries'

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Rinse the chicken and remove the packet inside.  Put the chicken in a baking pan, and drizzle olive oil over the chicken, rubbing it into the skin.  Squeeze the juice of  the lemon over the chicken, and stuff the lemon halves into the cavity.  Salt and pepper the chicken to taste. 

Meanwhile, put the cut potatoes in a bowl and drizzle in olive oil, using your hands to mix them around so that they are lightly coated in oil.  Salt liberally.

Put the potatoes around the chicken in the casserole dish.  Place the garlic cloves around in the potatoes.  Bake for about 40 minutes.  After this time, pull the chicken out, and pour the wine over the potatoes.  Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees.  Return the chicken to the oven, rotating the pan, for about 30 minutes more, testing for doneness using a meat thermometer, 170 degrees.

Argentina Photo of the Week #4-Plaza Pelligrini, Cuidad de Mendoza

 

This beautiful little plaza is just around the corner from the Sheraton Hotel in Mendoza.  Palm trees, a gazebo covered in flowers, and a fountain-it's just picture perfect!  There's a flea-market (see the tables?) every Thursday through Saturday, where you can pick up some great things at bargain prices (as long as you still have room in your suitcase).

I think this is one of Mendoza's most romantic spots (though there are often cars whizzing by), and I would have loved to get married here!  If I lived in Mendoza, this would be a hard place for me to resist-flea markets are a weakness of mine, and I'd love to just people watch here with a coffee or read a book and listen to the fountain, soaking up some sunshine.

This plaza to me represents a lot about how Argentinians view the world:  even if cars are going by,  people are bustling through, business is happening, there's always something beautiful to rest your eyes on and take a moment to enjoy life.

A Visit to a Family Winery

Argentina is joining the ranks of best-known wine producing countries, with wine exports up by 30% in the last year and new wines appearing in stores all the time.  Malbec is the most famous grape-since a blight wiped out most all Malbec crops in Europe a century ago, and Malbec has been 're-discovered' in Argentina.  The full bodied, intense flavored grape was brought and cultivated by Franciscan monks and has survived all this time.

Mendoza is Argentina's wine country--thousands of hectarias of grapes are cultivated there.  The land is irrigated with water from area rivers using an irrigation system inspired by the system indigenous tribes used in irrigating their crops.  Mendoza is a hot and arid zone that's difficult to cultivate (impossible without the irrigation system-a source of local pride).

Harvest time (La Vendimia) is marked in Mendoza with parades and celebrations that last for weeks.  This happens in March and April (Argentina's fall season)-they even crown a harvest queen (La Reina de la Vendimia)!   You can see this year's queen here.  Harvest season in Bowen is a very busy time-laborers work picking grapes morning till night.  The tannic scent of grapes wafts on the air, and bodegas (wineries) are in full production.

The majority of wineries don't grow their own grapes-they buy them from area farmers and bring them in to the factory in huge truckloads.  The trucks are like giant Tonka trucks, uncovered mounds of grapes heaped in the back, bees swarming around the 'cargo', attracted by the sweet scent of the grape juice warming under the hot sun.

I counted 30 trucks pulled up in front of the bodega in front of my in-laws house on a Friday night the year before last.  The trucks come in, and the drivers with them-they need to stay and guard the cargo until it has gone through processing at the bodega!  So the 30 trucks and their drivers stay out and awake all night, barbecuing in the street (they set up little parillas on the dirt road), listening to music, drinking, cavorting and having a grand old time.  Not a very restful night for us because of the noise, but completely fascinating as a foreigner!

The photo below is a group of school kids on their way home from class for their lunch break, stealing grapes off the trucks as a snack.  I thought it was so charming-an innocence that we hardly see in the US anymore.  (The white and blue coats are their school uniforms).

 

We went to tour a family winery called Goyenechea.  This is the road leading to the winery.

The winery was established by two brothers, Santiago and Narciso, two brothers who emigrated to Argentina from Spain's Basque region.  This is the bodega they constructed in the late 1890s.  Their land holdings (1,200 hectares) was once the largest continuous vineyard in the world and included the bodega, the vineyards, a school, a chapel, the family home, 50 houses and a social club (for the bodega's employees).

What I love about this place is that it is not one of those shiny, new bodegas that give you a canned winery tour with a few French oak barrels thrown in to give you the 'winery experience'.  This bodega is still family owned, many things are done by hand, and it is very rustic.  I love that the paint is chipping, and things seem like they're about a year away from falling apart.

'Taller'-the old workshop-it's full of old and out-of-date farm and bodega equipment that's no longer in use-even an old boat!  I think it would make a nice restaurant space.

Large oak doors at the entrance to the bodega-wood is a common material in Mendoza, and used to create works of art like this.

Grapes are being unloaded from the truck (the green thing heaped with grapes), carried in the yellow crates, and dumped into a  huge vat...

The vat has a metal spiral in it that crushes the grapes, stirred by the man with the big wooden stick.  There's a machine that separates the grapes, juice and stems.

These are old barrels that were used to process the wine, now stainless steel barrels are used.

Smaller French and American oak barrels used in the aging process.

So many remarkable things on our little tour!  One area of the bodega was a series of rooms that's now connected by a hallway and used to store hundreds of bottles of wine as they age, before they go through the labeling process and are shipped and sold.  The rooms were about 6 feet by 10 feet with 10 foot ceilings, cool and made of brick.  They were formerly the tanks used to process the grape juice-it was all stored in these brick rooms!  I find the thought of an entire room filled with wine amazing, it makes me wonder where it went in those days, who drank it.  There were little bits of crystallized sugars still sparkling on walls.

This guy is making Grappa.  He's shoveling the stems and skins of the grapes and making an even layer of them to be pressed.  Then the juice is distilled, making a clear, concentrated alcohol.  It will knock you silly, and should therefore be consumed with caution. 

Here's another part of the Grappa making process.  The stems are pressed by screwing a wooden disk down until all the juice has been extracted.  Those big purple black discs on the left are the pressed stem patties.

And if you think this looks like the hardest job at the bodega, you should know that there are literally guys wearing no shirts, plastic waders and carrying shovels working down in a hole inside the plant, where it's like 100 degrees.  (They should form a union.) Down the hole, a big plastic tube pours in grapes and juice, which they shovel into the juicer, making sure nothing gets stuck.  By this time, fermentation has already started, and the smell coming from the hole is positively alcoholic.  I don't know if it's a good or bad thing to be down there, illuminated by a single dangling bulb with the roar of machinery behind you, but it's not a job I envy!

Malbec is a full-bodied red, though at Goyenechea we sampled a Rose (sharing a single tasting glass used by the bodega manager to test the juice-no tasting room here!) directly out of the stainless steel cask.  There are also some lovely Torrontes, Chardonnay and even sparkling whites (Champagne-called Champu by locals) produced in Argentina.

There are many very affordable Malbecs available in the US, though from what I've found, Goyenechea is not yet one of them.  I think it's available in the UK (lucky!)  We buy our Malbec from a web site called Drink Up NY-a New York based online wine and spirits store.  They also do a wine events and tastings newsletter that you can subscribe to.  Their prices are very reasonable and they have a nice selection of Argentinian (and other South American) wines.  One note:  don't be turned off by Malbec's (generally) low price point-the cost of production is so much lower in Argentina than other countries that the wine is much cheaper compared to European or American bottles of a similarly high quality.  If you need a recommendation, I'd go for the Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec 2005 or anything by Susana Balbo (a woman vintner who has won several awards). 

Have fun-pair with beef (of course) anything barbecued or grilled, Roquefort cheese or strong Parmesan-laced pasta dishes.  Please write in and let me know if you've had Malbec or are trying Malbec for the first time!  I'd also love to hear about your own wine tour experiences!

Argentina Photo of the Week#3-Museo del Inmigrante (Immigrant Museum) in Bowen

Argentina's rail system has been defunct since the 1990s, and when I win the lotto, I'll invest my winnings in reviving the whole thing, just so I can travel the country by train.  There are limited train routes running for tourists, but most of the old routes are not operational.

The rail system used to run cross-country, bringing tourists, travelers and cargo from one place to the other.  Mendoza produces grapes, wine, plums, apples, quince, olives and olive oil, peaches, and vegetables.  These goods still go out all over the country, but are now transported by diesel truck.  Many a Bowen resident drives a rig, because Bowen is a good in-between place to live.

The door on the left says 'sala de espera, boleteria'-it was a waiting room and ticket counter.  The door on the right says simply 'JEFE', which means 'BOSS'.  I find that very humorous, don't you?

The door is tall-probably 8 feet or more.  I just imagine the 'boss man' being a short, persnickety man with a Napoleon complex, working in this little farming village and going in and out of his own special BOSS entrance every day with an air of disdain.  Probably a complete fabrication, but nonetheless, I wish I had a door that said JEFE on it!  (even if the only thing I'm the BOSS of is the housework!)

The train station sat vacant and abandoned all this time until about a year and a half ago, when it was converted into an Immigration Museum, (Museo del Inmigrante) documenting the different immigrant groups (mostly Ukrainian, Russian, and Italian), that settled and farmed the area around Bowen.

Someone also lives there!  One area that was part of the train station has been converted into a living space, the 'caretaker' lives there for free in exchange for taking care of the museum.  When I say converted, I don't mean refurbished, as they do in the US, when they convert an old funky warehouse into a set of loft residences.  It's more like squatting, and I'd guess they probably chose the side with plumbing.  They also keep chickens, which are busy running around pecking at the dirt outside behind the museum. They are truly free range!

Tarta de Choclo-Corn Tart

  Buenos Aires, 1905--Tango is the underground dance of bordellos and seedy nightclubs.  While members of Argentina's Creole upper class dine out to the tune of an orchestra, tango's popularity is on the rise in the streets.  Angel Villoldo composes his best tango yet, telling his friend, pianist Jose Luis Roncallo, that he wants to play the song that night for the ritzy clientele at the restaurant where Roncallo and his orchestra play.  Roncallo balks at the idea-play a tango for the elite crowd at the exclusive Restaurante Americano?  Never.  But, being the friend that he is, and finding the tune so compelling, Roncallo and his orchestra decide to play the song anyway, disguising it as a "danza Criolla"-a Creole dance.  The rest, as they say, is history-the song became wildly popular and a classic was born.

And the name of the tune?  El Choclo-the ear of corn.  Villoldo, who loved his song "...from the very first note" also found the ear of corn to be the tastiest ingredient in a meat and vegetable stew called puchero.  To earn a living was commonly referred to as 'earning the puchero', (the reference here being that writing this tango was the 'tastiest' way to earn a living) and Villoldo hoped the song would bring him success and help him earn a living, hence bestowing this odd name on the song. 

Choclo is also the main ingredient in tarta de choclo, a tart filled with corn.  It's meant to be sweet rather than savory, though not as sweet as a dessert filling would be. This filling can also be used as a filling in empanadas.  It's a very simple dish, which would be great as a starter or a side, or a simple dinner with a salad, bread and a bottle of red wine.  This is how I make tarta 'El Choclo':

Open a bottle of wine.  Put on a Tango CD and put volume up.  While making the tarta, banish winter (or anytime!) blues by dancing the tango in the kitchen-alone, with baby, or with husband (who may be unavailable due to long work hours, baby bath time duties, or general aversion to dance steps).  Drink wine in between tango steps and wait for the tarta to come out of the oven.

                                        Receta por Tarta de Choclos

                                                Recipe for Corn Tart

1 Tablespoons butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 eggs, hardboiled then peeled and chopped

2 ears of corn OR 1 can of creamed sweet corn

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 pie crust rounds-either your recipe for pie crust OR Pillsbury pre-made Pie Crusts

1 teaspoon sugar

pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Heat the butter in a skillet over medium high heat and saute the onions until translucent.  Add the corn, either the canned creamed sweet corn or 2 ears, boiled until tender, kernels cut off, and mixed in with onion with a few tablespoons of milk and a spoonful of cornstarch to thicken.  Add the sugar, pepper and cheese. Heat through until the cheese is melted.  Remove form heat and let cool slightly.

Put 1 pie crust onto a round pan.  Put corn mixture onto the center of the pie crust.  Sprinkle with chopped egg pieces.  Cover with second pie crust round and seal the edge all the way around by twisting the dough, so that none of the filling seeps out during baking.

Bake until crust is golden brown, about 35-40 minutes.  Cut into wedges, it can be served hot, cold, or at room temperature.

Housekeeping: Knorr Soup Mix-Pantry Staple/Dirty Secret

Every pantry has one-a dirty little secret.  Mine is Knorr,  in all it's glory-in the form of bouillon cubes or soup mix... most pantries in Argentina have Knorr in one variety or other, and flavors not found here in the US, like split pea or cream of mushroom.  It's like Campbell's soup is here.  Knorr is loaded with MSG, which is why it tastes so darn good and is completely addictive.  But never mind-Knorr makes a great fast soup or soup base or becomes a dip when added to sour cream.  So versatile, so easy.

I chose a packet of Knorr today to post about my dear Lydia over at the Perfect Pantry, who over the past month has become a real friend.  I am amazed at what she gets done in a day, and her knowledge about blogging is just incredible!  Best of all, she has been kind enough to share so much of that knowledge with me.  Whenever I have a question, she tries her best to answer, and I truly couldn't have done this blog without her!  So here's to Lydia, thank you from my pantry to yours!

The other fantastic thing about this past month in blogging has been getting to know so many other great people.  Jaden over at Steamy Kitchen has turned me on to her recipe/photo cards-a food photo on the outside and a recipe on the inside!  Beautiful, useful, and so much better than getting just bills in the mail!  If you'd like one of my cards, please email me and let me know what photo and recipe you'd like to have, along with your address.  My email address is rebeccatcaro AT hotmail DOT com.  If you'd like more information on how to make your OWN cards to send, email me, and I can set up a gift account for you to send your own cards from the  Send Out Cards company.  It's so fun seeing your own images and recipes on a greeting card-the possibilities are endless, and they're so cool to make and send. 

I'd also like to thank all the regular commenters to my blog-you have done so much to encourage me in this project, and it's been wonderful getting to know all of you!  Thanks to Jen at a2eatwrite, Gretchen Noelle at Canela y Comino, Jennifer at Hambone and Spice, Paz at The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz, White on Rice Couple, Sandie at Inn Cuisine, and Michelle at the Greedy Gourmet (thanks for the meme, and I'll try to get to that soon!)  Thanks also to other visitors and commenters to my blog-I couldn't be doing this or having this much fun without you!! 

Finally, I'm happy to announce that Guillermo and I will be going to Argentina from April 1-17 for a nice, long visit.  I will be bringing back all kinds of wonderful stories and recipes to share, plus  photos and video.  I'll also be meeting up with Michael from Vines of Mendoza-the tasting room/vineyard estates/boutique wine club-- he's invited us out to an asado at his vineyard-am I lucky, or what?!  I can't wait to tell you all about it!!

Argentina Photo of the Week #2-Lake Nahuel Huapi

Have you ever been someplace so beautiful it's overwhelming? 

Lake Nahuel Huapi is one of those places.  Located in Argentina's s Patagonia region, the lake is surrounded by mountains and dotted with islands.  The mountain town of Bariloche, known for its Swiss-chateau style buildings and chocolate shops, borders the lake. 

We went there in 2006 after our wedding.   Everywhere I turned my eyes and senses were filled with astounding scenery and perfection.  I commented to Guillermo many times that I could live there, and do nothing but take pictures--it would be possible to never get the same image twice and to see something new every day. 

It seemed there was a new photo to be taken at every moment, something amazing taking my breath away.  I didn't want to miss a second without photographing it, when I look back now I just think we don't have enough pictures, or pictures of some of the things I remember.  In the end, I was even a little disappointed-none of the photos we took did the place justice-it's just glorious!!

My Lake Nahuel Huapi Top 5 Things:

1. The gondola ride up Cerro Otto.  The ride takes you to the top of  the mountain where there's a 360-degree view and a revolving restaurant.
2. Ruta de los Siete Lagos-The Seven Lakes Route takes you barreling down unpaved roads through forest and pasture, with seven breathtaking scenic lakes as stopping points along the way.
3. Taking the boat tour of the lake.
4. St. Bernard Rescue dogs in the town plaza.
5. The scenery, everywhere you look.

Sopa de Sorrel-Sorrel Soup

"You have to have it!  People who don't have soup don't ever grow up!"

"And they stay little, and don't ever get big!"   ... (Mafalda looking at her soup)...

"What tranquility would reign today in the world if Marx hadn't eaten his soup!"

Mafalda is Argentina's most loved and well-known comic strip, created in 1964 by Mendoza-born cartoonist Quino.  Mafalda is a little girl who famously hates soup, and whose dialogue combines a witty social commentary with concern for humanity and the state of the world.  Mafalda is a political cartoon with a sense of humor.  She's joined by her parents and friends, who are all typical Argentinos, and through each comic strip, Argentina's culture and opinions unfold.

The first time I read Mafalda, I didn't really get it.  How could a little girl be so pessimistic, so sarcastic? 

And now that I'm married to an Argentino, well...I find it hilarious, revealing, and a key to understanding the Argentinian psyche.  Every Argentino can relate to Mafalda in some way, find some truth in her wry remarks, and maybe see a little of themselves.  Argentina has been pushed, pulled, dragged and shoved every which way politically and economically; through the years facing Communism, corruption, war, financial ruin, instability and inflation.  Which would make one slightly pessimistic, but makes one hell of a political cartoon!

My husband grew up on this comic, which was a standard in most Argentinian households, no matter what province you were from.  (The comic started in Buenos Aires newspapers, but was later syndicated around the world.) 

The area of Mendoza where my husband's family lives is a farming community with a large Russian and Ukrainian population. Locals take advantage of what's growing seasonally to vary their cooking, and Sorrel, the sour-tasting herb from the buckwheat family, grows wild and in abundance.  Russians have long been known to eat Sorrel soup (Schi in Russian), which has many variations that feature Sorrel as the star ingredient. 

Sorrel soup can be made with varying amounts of sorrel, but may also use spinach.  It is sometimes made with vegetable stock, but may also use chicken or even beef stock.  Some recipes call for cream, others are more like a broth.  Some cooks like theirs with ham, bacon, or sausage.  So basically, the recipe is up to the chef.

The Sorrel soup I've made here includes cream, carrot, fennel (which gives it a sweet, anise dimension), sorrel, vegetable stock, and potatoes, because that is what we had on hand.  Many cultures pride themselves, culinarily speaking, on making something out of nothing. When not a lot is available, this soup, with it's simple ingredients and many variations, is a great example of that.  And it's completely-out-of-this-world good!

So good, in fact, that Mafalda might even like it!

                                                         Receta por Sopa de Sorel

                                                              Sorrel Soup Recipe

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 med. yellow onion, chopped

1/4 chopped fennel bulb (can substitute celery)

1 bay leaf

1 large carrot, grated

4-5 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces

4 cups vegetable stock

2 cups water

2 generous teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt

pepper

Sorrel-we used about 10 leaves-what's sold in a plastic container of herbs.  If you have access to it, use a few handfuls!!

sour cream, for garnish

chopped crisp bacon, for garnish (optional)

Put the oil in a stock pot and heat over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and fennel and pepper to taste.  Cook until the onion start to get transparent, but not mushy, about 5 minutes.  Add the bay leaf, carrot and potatoes and a scant handful of coarse salt.  Pour the vegetable stock and water in, enough to just cover the potatoes.  Bring to a boil, and stir to combine e the ingredients, then lower the heat.  Let simmer until the potatoes are soft and can be mashed with a fork.  Stir in the sorrel, mustard and heavy cream and heat through.  Remove the soup from the heat and mash potatoes with a hand potato masher.  You want a chunky consistency.  Serve, piping hot, garnished with sour cream and bacon.

Torta Mojada-Wet Cake

I'll admit that 'wet cake' sounds really unappealing, even a little gross.  It conjures up possible synonyms like 'mushy cake', or 'soggy cake,' which torta mojada most certainly is not.   Instead, it's divine.  As in, there-is-a-God-and-he-wants-you-to-eat-this-cake divine, as in divine intervention divine.  'Wet Cake' doesn't do this cake justice-it's just lost in translation.

In Argentina, babies are often called 'divine'-people coo over them saying 'Es un divino!  Absolutamente divino!'  And so it's fitting that this divine cake is what I made for our son, Esteban's first birthday.  (Who is indeed, divine!)

Wet cake is a regular cake, (I used chocolate, but any cake is fine) lightly soaked with simple syrup to give it an extra moistness and sweetness.  It almost melts in your mouth.  Argentinos  commonly use (rather than frosting) jam , fresh fruit and whipped cream, or dulce de leche between the layers of the cake.  The combination of the flavors is like no other cake you've ever tried, and it will send your taste buds  straight to heaven.

There are a variety of flavor combinations you can try for the filling between the layers (on this cake I did one layer of dulce de leche and another of strawberry jam) try: dulce de leche, fresh sliced fruit like banana, strawberries, peaches, apricots, stirred into whipped cream (crema chantilli), or your favorite jam (raspberry, strawberry, or peach would all be good).

For the wet cake technique, you can use simple syrup, or you can add the flavored liqueur (for adults only!) of your choice:  almond liqueur, Frangelico, Rum, Kahlua or Grand Marnier would all be good options.  (to taste-a couple of tablespoons should be plenty)  A spoonful of instant coffee or some espresso would also be great.

Here's a video (shameless bragging, I know!) of my son eating his very first piece of chocolate cake.

                                                              Receta por Torta Mojada

                                                                Recipe for 'Wet Cake'

For the cake, you can cheat like I did and use a cake from the box.  You can also use one of your own favorite cake recipes, or this one, for All Purpose Chocolate Cake, from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 teaspoons instant espresso or instant coffee

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly coat two 8-or9-inch round cake pans or one 9 by 13-inch cake pan with vegetable oil spray, then line the bottom with parchment paper.  Whisk the flour, cocoa, instant espresso, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes/  Beat in the eggs, one at a time until incorporated, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.  Beat in the vanilla.

Reduce the speed to low and beat in one third of the flour mixture.  Beat in half of the milk.  Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture, then the remaining milk, and finally the remaining flour mixture.

Give the batter a final stir using a rubber spatula to make sure it is thoroughly combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top.  Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes out with a few crumbs attached, 20 to 25 minutes for round cake pans, 25-30 minutes for the sheet cake, rotating the pans halfway through.

Let the cakes cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Run a paring knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen, then flip the cakes upright, discard the parchment, and let cool completely before frosting, 1 to 2 hours.

Simple Syrup

Simple syrup is 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water heated in a sauce pan over medium-high heat just until boiling, and the sugar has dissolved.  At this point, any other additional flavorings can be added.  This amount is more than enough for one wet cake.

Wet Cake

The technique to make wet cake is this:  Spoon the simple syrup over the cooled cake layers before frosting.  you can make a 2 layer or a 4 layer cake.  For example, a four-layer cake needs 2 round cakes.  Each of the two cakes is carefully cut in half, (so you have four approximately one-inch thick cake rounds) and the top layer removed.  The first (bottom layer) is put on to the cake plate.  The simple syrup is spooned a little at a time, covering that layer.  Then the filling of choice (jam, fruit and cream, or dulce de leche) is carefully spread on.  The top half of that cake is then set on top, the simple syrup is spooned on, followed by the filling.  Repeat with the top two layers. 

After assembling your cake, frost with the frosting of your choice.