Murdered in Argentina: A Jack Trout Cozy Mystery (18 page)
Read Murdered in Argentina: A Jack Trout Cozy Mystery Online
Authors: Dianne Harman
Jack walked over to Lisa and lightly kissed her cheek. “After the first few days we spent in Chile, if you’d told me you wanted to be a repeat client I wouldn’t have taken you, but now you would definitely be at the top of my list. Carola and I look forward to seeing you when we return with our next group of fly fishermen. Now, tomorrow will be a long travel day for everyone, so I think we all need to get a good night’s sleep. There will be a continental breakfast here in the morning.”
With that final announcement, Jack bid his guests a good evening with the age-old mantra of dedicated fly fishermen when he said, “May the wind be at your back, and always keep a tight line.”
Recipes!
Carbonado Criolle (Argentinian Beef Stew)
Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1 ½ pounds stewing beef, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 ½ cups beef broth
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 white potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tbsps. sugar
1 large winter squash, peeled and cubed
1 cup dried apricots or fresh, roughly chopped (we have an apricot tree, so I use fresh ones)
1 cup frozen corn
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
Directions:
In a large pot, sauté the onions, green pepper, and garlic in the olive oil until soft and golden. Add the beef and cook on medium-high heat, turning to brown it on all sides. Add the stewed tomatoes, 2 cups
beef broth
, potatoes, sugar, squash, and apricots, and lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for one hour. Season with salt and pepper. Add more beef broth if the stew seems too thick.
Stir in the corn and simmer 10 minutes more. Enjoy!
Dulce de Leche (Caramelized Sugar in Milk)
Ingredients:
4 cups milk
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Directions:
Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Add the rest of the ingredients, using a whisk to stir the sugar until it’s completely dissolved. (Otherwise, your dulce de leche will not be smooth and trust me, you definitely want a smooth consistency!) Cook on medium low heat for 2 to 3 hours until it reaches the consistency you want (some people prefer it a little thinner, it’s your choice!) It should have a rich tan or brown color and a smooth texture when done. Refrigerate. When ready to serve, spoon into individual small bowls. Enjoy!
Matambre (Argentine Flank Steak)
Ingredients:
2 ½ lbs. flank steak
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper¼ lb. fresh spinach, washed and drained with stems trimmed
4 small thin carrots
4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered lengthwise
1 cup pitted green Spanish olives, halved lengthwise
1 large onion, peeled and sliced into rings
1 large onion, cut in half
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 750 ml. bottle red wine (since Argentina makes a great Malbec wine, I recommend using it)
1 cup water
1 head garlic, cut in half
Handful of fresh thyme sprigs
Handful of fresh oregano sprigs
2 bay leaves
Butcher’s twine
Directions:
Butterfly the steak by slicing almost through it horizontally and opening it up like a book. Pound the meat gently with a mallet to flatten it and even out the thickness. Rub all sides with olive oil and season with the 1/8 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper.
With the steak lying lengthwise, scatter the spinach leaves evenly over the meat, leaving a one-inch border on each side. Arrange the carrots in long rows across the steak, about 2 inches apart. Put the egg strips and olives between the carrot rows. Scatter the onion rings and cheese over the filling. Sprinkle with 1/8 tsp. salt and the red pepper flakes. Roll the meat up over the filling into a cylinder (like a jellyroll). Tie three pieces of the butcher’s twine around the cylinder horizontally to hold it together.
Coat a large pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. Sear the stuffed steak in the hot oil until it is browned on all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes. Pour the wine into the pan and enough water to almost cover the meat. Add the head of garlic, onion, and herbs to flavor the broth. Cover and simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 ½ hours. Turn the meat over once. When it’s cooked, transfer the matambre to a cutting board and let it rest for 15 minutes. Remove the twine and cut crosswise into 1 inch slices. Remove the bay leaf and sprigs of thyme and oregano from the mixture. Spoon some of the sauce over the meat and serve. You can put the remaining sauce in a gravy boat and put it on the dining table. Enjoy!
Ensalade Palmitos (Argentine Hearts of Palm Salad)
Ingredients:
1 can (14 oz.) hearts of palm, thinly sliced
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 avocado, quartered and thinly sliced
1
⁄
4
cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh orange juice
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
On a platter, arrange the hearts of palm, tomato, and avocado in a single, overlapping layer.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Enjoy!
Tomates Rellenos (Argentine Stuffed Tomatoes)
Ingredients:
2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and finely chopped
2 cans white tuna (albacore), drained
Mayonnaise to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
8 tomatoes, tops cut off, cored and seeded
Lettuce for serving, optional
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the tuna, mayonnaise (to your taste and consistency), garlic, parsley, and the chopped hard-boiled egg. Stuff the tomatoes with the tuna mixture, and garnish with a sprig of parsley. Serve on a bed of lettuce if desired. (I like to make these ahead of time and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.) Enjoy!
*****
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ABOUT DIANNE
Dianne lives in Huntington Beach, California, with her husband, Tom, a former California State Senator, and her boxer dog, Kelly. Her passions are cooking, reading, and dogs, so whenever she has a little free time, you can either find her in the kitchen, playing with Kelly in the back yard, or curled up with the latest book she’s reading.
Her other books are available below:
Amazon:
Blue Coyote Motel
Amazon:
Coyote
in Provence
Amazon:
Cornered Coyote
Amazon:
Coyote Series
Amazon
:
Kelly’s Koffee Shop
Amazon:
Murder at Jade Cove
Amazon:
White Cloud Retreat
Amazon:
Marriage and Murder
Amazon:
Murder in Cottage #6
Amazon:
Murder in the Pearl District
Amazon:
Murder and Brandy Boy
Amazon:
Murder in Calico Gold
Amazon:
The Death Card
Amazon:
Murder at The Cooking School
Amazon:
Murder & The Monkey Band
Amazon:
Murder at The Bed & Breakfast
Amazon:
Murder at The Secret Cave
Amazon:
Murder in Cuba
Amazon:
The Blue Butterfly
Amazon:
Trouble at the Kennel
Amazon:
Murdered by Words
Amazon:
Murdered by Country Music
Amazon:
Murder at the Big T Lodge
Amazon:
Murdered in Argentina
Please feel free to follow her on these social media sites:
Website:
http://www.DianneHarman.com
Blog:
http://www.DianneHarman.com/blog
Email:
[email protected]
Twitter:
@DianneDHarman
Facebook Author Page (Thriller)
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Blue Coyote Motel,
an Amazon Kindle Best Seller
,
was a quarterfinalist in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award Contest and was also a Goodreads Psychological Thriller of the Month Book.
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