What Food From Your Home Country Did The Argentinians Ruin?

[Girino]

I am sure there must be good food here. I just have to find out where.
I realize I am coming from a place where food is emphasized, and food is basically the only positive thing you can say about Italians (plus beaches, but those cannot be exported).
What impressed me is how there are a lot of Italian dishes "on paper", but in reality they are nothing like the originals. And I don't mean they've changed an ingredient because here it was not available. No, they revisited the whole recipe, mixed up some stuff, covered it in queso and put an Italian name on it. Being a country with a large amount of recent immigrants from Italy, I was expecting more focus on food. Even in Spain the food is good, but somewhat all of this was lost (so soon!).

In Italy, food and eating is strongly rooted in our culture, we exchange recipes (or argue on them!), we remember our grannies for what they cooked us in that unique way that not even the most accomplished chef could compare, we go by telling people about our snack after school when watching the TV, we invite people to eat at our place to show them what we call "good food", we have a lot of variety of even the most basic stuff (fresh cheeses, tomatoes, pasta) and we know which is best for what. We grow them in our gardens, if we have one, or we exchange suggestions on where to go to buy them. Cooking good food for someone, is showing them you love them.

For Italians, eating = good time. Time to be shared with family and friends and occasiona guests. Here (in this house), it looks like God has punished them with craving, and they find some junkie to wash down their throats.

I'll tell you one thing: we were invited to another family member's, Italian by birth, who moved here when he was 3 years old with his Italian parents. He always told us how in his house "mangiamo italiano" because his parents were real Italians, and he travelled extensively to Italy in his adult life.
We were officially invited over to have ravioli, because he knows where to get them done the right way.

We were presented with a dish of sorrentinos (a kind of ravioli unheard of in Italy, quite big and stuffed), covered with tomato sauce and carne picada, plus dried mushrooms.
To be honest, I cannot say what was inside those sorrentinos, I wasn't able to tell. There were too many strong flavors mixed together. What's the point in eating if you cannot recognize the flavors? I'd rather have a oreo milkshake, instead!

Now, I didn't want to offend anybody and eat it up, but the memory of that lunch kept me alive until dinner time. Please don't call that Italian food.
I was expecting this kind of "Italian food", say, in the US. But not here in Buenos Aires which is like a second Italy.

The sorrentinos below look delicious, and reading the filling ingredients (ricotta), it mixes nicely with the tomato sauce and the basil leaves.
Add meat, mushroom and onion... and you ruined a plate!

 

[Noruega]

And lutefisk?

Just another way for us Norwegians to ruin a nice piece of fish! "Hey, let's preserve it in lye, that sounds like a good idea!"

 

[Redpossum]

I just want to share with you that last night I made peperonata on request of my bf.... And they added queso rallado on top. Wheeew!

Blasphemy! I mean, it might not be too bad if you added just a little sprinkle of grated parmesan, (Yeah, I know that's an American thing), or that really intensely flavorful Mexican goat cheese, but I'm guessing you meant great mounds of some "Pasteurized Process Cheese Food" type garbage...

And Tex, yeah, my grandma used to do something like that, buy the meat and then hammer the crap out of it with a meat hammer, dip it in milk and egg and then into a dish of crumbs she'd made from stale bread. Unfortunately she used an aluminum hammer and fried it in Crisco or corn oil. I've had to modify her recipes and practices considerably for modern ideas of health.

Speaking of oil, I've been getting La Toscana brand aceite de oliva virgen extra, primera extracción en frio, found at the Jumbo, and I'd say it's of a very good quality. Granted, it's more expensive than the six bucks a liter olive oil I used to buy at Trader Joe's, but still far cheaper than buying a name brand like Bertoli at a US chain like Albertson's.

 

[Girino]

Speaking of oil, I've been getting La Toscana brand aceite de oliva virgen extra, primera extracción en frio, found at the Jumbo, and I'd say it's of a very good quality.

Thanks for the heads up! I love Tuscan oil, among all EVOs we have in Italy. Second comes the Ligurian oil. I have seen also EVO bottles at fiabrerias, but I can't tell about their quality. I was recommended a fiambreria in San Isidro (in front of the rail station), and the jamon crudo was really genuine in taste! They let me sample also jamon serrano (thumbs up for that, too) but jamon cocido was bad (good for local standard, but no way close to the Italian one).

I still have to visit the Mercado of Belgrano where I was told there is Italian food, as well.

 

[Redpossum]

Thanks for the heads up! I love Tuscan oil, among all EVOs we have in Italy. Second comes the Ligurian oil. I have seen also EVO bottles at fiabrerias, but I can't tell about their quality.

TBH, it's just Tuscan style. It's marked Industria Argentina, and appears to be from La Rioja, or at least elaborado y envasado por alla.

None the less, I will endorse it as good stuff. Just remember, I'm an American, and as my Italian friends always used to assure me, we Americans don't know cazzo about food

 

[syngirl]

Isadora you're the only expat on this bored that skipped the first step of being thrilled with Argentina and went immediately to bitter. I don't think you're going to last, it's not healthy to walk around in such a horrible mood right from day one spitting venom about the people and food around you. I'm sure your bf's family would love to hear how you describe them -- it's not even with a bit of carinho -- there's poking fun and there's being plain rude. There's a lot of people who end up bitter, and who constantly tout the greatness of their home country -- they are the one's that end up getting on the plane home usually within a year. If you don't let go and look for the best, you might as well just give up. Why on earth did you come? You seem to have come with a negative attitude from the start? I think everyone on the board has gone through these moments, but they either get through them or they just get on the plane home. I've just never heard of someone being SO negative right from the start -- did your Argentine bf smuggle you into the country and take away your passport? Why so bitter right from the start?

 

[Mano Negra]

How complicated can it be to extract a decent piece of bacon from a pig? Its a giant chunk of meat on legs. WHY NO BACON?

There is Bacon here! Baines Best bacon, look it up on Facebook. I have it delivered for my B&B every week.

 

[PhilipDT]

What's wrong with hitting meat with an aluminum hammer?

 

[wineguy999]

I am sure there must be good food here. I just have to find out where.
...food is basically the only positive thing you can say about Italians (plus beaches, but those cannot be exported)...

I'm assuming you're not a wine drinker. Unless, like me, you consider it food.

 

[Redpossum]

What's wrong with hitting meat with an aluminum hammer?

Aluminum appears to be linked to Alzheimers, so I try to remove all sources of aluminum from my kitchen, or at least any place where it may come in contact with food. This is not easy to do. I still haven't found a cast-iron meat hammer.