Argentina

Huzzah! Argentina is the first country that I have actually set foot in: and I say 'set foot in' rather than visited because the only part of Argentina that I saw was the amazing Iguazu Falls which spans the border of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

When I think of Argentinian food I think of amazing steak. This is a huge honour coming from an Australian as we pride ourselves on the quality of our beef. And as an Australian, I can tell you that we are not averse to chucking a steak on the barbie. In fact we are much more likely to do so than to throw another shrimp on it. Each Australian man has his own way of preparing steak on the BBQ. Many subscribe to the 'only turn once method'. I like to oil the steak, not the hotplate. Some like flame grilled, others low heat. Either way there are always two things in common:

1. The man will ask each of his guests how they would like their steak cooked.

2. The steaks will all be cooked the bloody same (usually either over or under done). 

The following method of cooking steak was quite novel and produced a brilliant steak. I am not trying to pass it off as an authentic Argentinian 'asado' but it has been inspired by the Argentine way of cooking and uses the famous 'chimichurri' as a condiment so for me that is good enough until I get the chance to return to Argentina for the real thing.

Ingredients
Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce:

'Gaucho' Style Steak With Chimichurri

1 Cup Flat leaf parsley
3 to 5 Cloves garlic, minced
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Freshly ground pepper
1/2 Tsp Chili flakes
2 Tbsp Fresh oregano leaves (optional)
2 Tbsp Shallots
3/4 Cup Olive oil
3 Tbsp Red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp Lemon juice

Steak:

1 Tbsp Cayenne pepper
3 Tbsp Salt
1 - 1.5 Kg Good quality steak (Rib Eye or Sirloin)
2 Baguettes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Directions

Place all chimichurri sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until well chopped, but not pureed. Put aside.

Dissolve cayenne pepper and salt in 1 cup hot water. Transfer to a squeeze container.

Place the steak directly over a hot grill, baste with the cayenne mixture, and grill until desired doneness. Remove the steak from the grill and slice long strips from the outer edges of the steak. 

Serve as you go with the chimichurri and baguette. Keep cooking until everyone is satisfied and you are lauded as best BBQ guy ever!

(Was too busy collecting praise - mostly from myself - to take a photo but really, it's steak and sauce. I will put one up once I cook it again. In the meantime here is a picture my wife took at Iguazu Falls)

I can finally add some photo's of my Argentinian steak: