From Argentina With Love

Pionono de Atun y Morrones--Pionono with Tuna and Roasted Red Peppers

 

If there were ever a quality that would make a food lovable, for me that quality would be versatility. Take the humble Pionono--a handful of basic ingredients (above) blended together to create a spongy cake that has just about as many filling options as you can dream up.

In the mood for something sweet?  Spread your Pionono with Dulce de Leche, or maybe Nutella and crumbled nuts.  Or spread it with a soft gelato, then roll and freeze to make an ice cream cake.  Looking for a brunch option?  Whipped cream and strawberry-filled Pionono make a great  brunch dish.

In the mood for something savory? Fill your Pionono like a sandwich--with layers of ham or salami or turkey, provolone cheese, sliced olives, roasted red peppers and hard boiled egg.  Or whipped cream cheese with Roquefort crumbles mixed in.  Or like this version, it can be filled with tuna salad spiked with fresh herbs and roasted red peppers.

The humble Pionono, a staple in Argentina's kitchens, makes a great party appetizer or something different to bring to a potluck.  And last week we had it paired with a hearty quinoa salad--it was the perfect small plate to go with a grain, both playing an equal part as main dishes on the plate.

What are your favorite filling  ideas?

Pionono

Pionono (Jelly Roll)

5 eggs

5 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon honey

5 tablespoons flour

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a stand mixer, put the eggs,sugar, and honey, and beat on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper and grease with butter or spray with cooking spray.

After 8 minutes, you should have a fluffy batter. Add the flour in all at once and beat for one minute more, until incorporated. Pour the batter onto the cookie sheet and spread gently with a spatula (you don't want to de-fluff the batter!) Make an even layer covering the cookie sheet. Place in the oven for 6 minutes.

Wet a cotton (not terry-cloth) towel and put it flat on the counter. Sprinkle it lightly with sugar. Lift the parchment paper off of the cookie sheet, and lay the pionono face down on the wet towel, paper-side up. Carefully peel the corner of the paper off, and continue, careful not to rip the pionono, until the paper has been removed. Fill with filling as below or as desired by spreading the chosen filling evenly across the pionono.   Roll carefully (too long on the wet towel is not good) and slice. Arrange on a plate to serve.

Relleno de Atun con Morrones

Tuna and Roasted Red Pepper Filling

Salmon would also be a nice option here, just substitute the 2 cans of tuna for 2 cans of skinless, boneless salmon. 

2 cans tuna, drained

2 tablespoons (or more, to taste) mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (tarragon or basil would also be nice)

1 egg, hard-boiled, peeled and chopped (optional)

2 roasted red peppers, chopped

Place the tuna in a medium mixing bowl, and flake with a fork.  Stir in the mayonnaise and mix well until combined.  Add in the lemon juice, and then fold in the parsley, hard-boiled egg, and roasted peppers.  Spread the mixture across the pionono as described above, before rolling and slicing.

 

Tarta Pascualina--Easter Spinach Ricotta Pie

 
A couple of years ago, I posted a great recipe for Tarta Pascualina with roasted red peppers that was sent to me by a reader in Washington.  Since this dish is popular in Argentina during this season, I'd share another variation of the recipe.  Pascua is the Spanish word for Easter, so Tarta Pascualina literally means 'Eastertime Tart'.

What makes this dish extra-special is that under the crust, little wells have been made in the filling, and eggs are cracked into each well.  The average Tarta Pascualina has between 6 to 8 eggs per pie, which get cooked inside the filling as the tarta bakes.  When the Pascualina is served, each slice has a cross-sectioned hard-cooked egg in it.

Since Easter is right around the corner, we're eating all the traditional Lent and Easter season foods at our house.  One of the most typical for this time of year is this tart--a Spinach and Ricotta pie--great for observing Lent since it's meatless.  The eggs in the dish make it an obvious choice for Easter, but really, it's delicious with or without the eggs, at any time of year.  Served as a main dish, it can be accompanied by baked sweet potatoes or corn on the cob, served as a side, it can accompany a family barbecue spread as a vegetarian option.

According to Katie of Seashells and Sunflowers, the recipe for Tarta Pascualina dates back to the 16th century, and was brought to Argentina by Italian immigrants from the Liguria region.  Chef Francis Mallmann says that the traditional recipe calls for 33 layers of pastry, representing the number of years Christ lived on earth. 

Today, though, we take a shortcut to make the much faster version of the dish, using pre-made tarta shells and frozen spinach--though of course, these can be done the slow way, too!  As Spring springs, enjoy this eggcentric dish--and save it for another time of year, too.

 

Tarta Pascualina

Eastertime Tart

Serves 6-8

Chard is also used frequently in Tarta Pascualina.  Feel free to use chard or a combination of chard and spinach.

2 tarta shells or pie crusts--store bought or homemade (one package contains 2 shells, available at Latin markets.  Pillsbury pie crusts also work well, and a homemade pie crust is excellent)

2 packages (9 oz.) frozen spinach

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons milk

6-8 eggs

butter, for greasing pan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Defrost the spinach by heating in the microwave or in a pot on the stove top over medium heat.  Heat the spinach to defrost, but do not heat it up too hot.  Let cool before handling. Place the spinach in a linen towel, and squeeze out to drain the moisture from the spinach.  Not until it's totally dry, leave alittle moisture.  In a medium bowl, mix together the spinach, crushed garlic, ricotta, and the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.  Season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper, and mix well to combine.  Dissolve the cornstarch in the milk, and add the milk mixture to the spinach and cheese mixture and stir well until incorporated.

Traditionally, Tarta Pascualina  is made using a spring-form pan.  However, a regular pie plate also works fine.  Grease the bottom of your pie pan or spring form pan with butter.  Line the bottom of your pie plate or spring-form pan with one of the tarta shells.  Put the filling into the shell.  Make 6-8 indentations in the filling (about one inch apart, and one inch from the edge of the pan) and crack an egg into each indentation.

Cover the pie with the other tarta crust.  Seal the edges by pinching together the two shells with your thumb and forefinger making an indentation, as you would seal an emapanada.  Slice a few vents in the top of the pie.  Optional: brush the top of the crust with beaten egg to give it shine.

Bake for 45 minutes, until the crust has turned a golden brown on top.  Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

Empanadas de Zapallo y Queso de Cabra--Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Empanadas

 

For the last week or so, like most Americans, I've been talking turkey. (gobble, gobble) It's because of Thanksgiving, of course!  Whether you like to cook or just like to eat, food is at the center of the day.  It's either a day one looks forward to (those who are eating) or dreads (those who are hosting).

Now that our son, Esteban, is three, one of my concerns is also trying to incorporate my husband's Argentinean culture into our family celebrations alongside my American one.  It's important to both of us  that both of our backgrounds are honored and that Esteban feels at home in both places. We want him not just to be proud of his lineage, but also to understand the different cultures he comes from--and hopefully he'll have 'the best of both worlds'. 

Tortas Fritas--Rainy Day Fried Bread

 

This morning as I bustled around getting ready to take Esteban to preschool, the wind was blowing but the sun was shining; an autumn chill was in the air.  On our drive, the weather was a bizarre mix that defines Colorado's typically atypical seasonal weather--bright morning sun in the East, and a wall of black clouds looming on the horizon.  Miraculously, a bright rainbow was seen, too, and it seemed to lead right to our son's preschool--the thought of his teachers 'bringing' the rainbow to school just delighted him.  After drop-off, I lingered to talk to another mom and coo over her new baby, and by the time I left ten minutes later, the weather had completely changed.  It was now a despicable, blustery mess.

We have an expression in Colorado:  "If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute!"  It sums up our mercurial climate perfectly, since things here can change in a heartbeat.  I dashed to my car.  The wind was whipping fiercely, gold leaves skittered sideways across the road, and icy rain pelted my windshield.  I only had one thought as I raced home.

 

Humitas en Chala con Queso de Cabra--Corn Pudding Tamales with Goat Cheese

 

Today you get a tidbit of Argentinean history along with your tidbit of food:

In 1879, the forces of Tucuman-born future oligarch of Argentina General Roca wiped out most of the indigenous peoples that inhabited the Pampa.  Such was the nature of conquest--'new' lands being colonized by to extend land expansion meant death or enslavement for native peoples--what amounted to a genocide of Mapuche tribes.  Roca's campaigns left the country with a 97% European population, and most of the land went into the hands of himself and his friends--a power that led to his election as president. 

 Sadly, so many indigenous traditions during campaigns such as Roca's are lost, but then, a few survive--and one of the things that most often carries on are recipes--because they are created from what is readily available in the area.  Argentina in the 1870s was pretty inhospitible for European immigrants, and the popularity of such native foods like squash, pumpkin and corn were due to the dearth of good quality greens, which is really the only way that recipes like this have carried on.