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Patriotic Puchero

“Sabado Noche, Puchero Criollo,” read the sign on the door of La Olla de Felix, a popular bistro in Recoleta, an upscale district of Buenos Aires. This meant that on Saturday night, owner/chef Felix Rueda would make puchero, which is Argentina’s version of Spain’s cocido, France’s pot au feu and New England’s boiled dinner.

Rueda offers this traditional dish four times a year, on national holidays.    Saturday night was the closest he could get to May 25, the anniversary of the day in 1810 when the criollos (Creoles) in Buenos Aires unseated the Spanish viceroy and established their own government.

Rueda was executive chef of the Ritz-Carlton in Paris for many years before returning to his native Argentina. Therefore, his puchero is no ordinary meal in a pot. The tureen that came to each table contained a beautifully constructed arrangement of meats and vegetables. And it was only part of a multi-course meal.

Dinner started with pate and bread, then moved on to marrow bones in broth. Each tureen was heaped with chunks of beef and pancetta, spicy red chorizo, dark morcilla (blood sausage) that was almost too rich to eat and  a colorful display of vegetables including cabbage, carrots, corn, and both white and sweet potatoes.

Another dish held white beans and garbanzos that had been cooked in the broth. And a condiment tray included tomato-based salsa criolla as well as mustard.  After so much food, it was a struggle to eat the slices of pale cheese and quince paste brought out for dessert.   

The next opportunity to taste Rueda’s puchero will be a Saturday close to July 9, the day Argentina was granted independence from Spain in 1816.  If you are in Buenos Aires at that time, visit La Olla de Felix at Juncal 1693 in Recoleta, or call 4811-2873 to make a reservation.

Another Dinner at Dan's

No Iron Chef ever faced such a challenge as Dan Perlman set for himself. Dan is the chef and wine expert who stages dinners in his home in Buenos Aires. This was my third visit, and a lucky one, because Dan excelled himself as he juggled three themes—the debut of the first commercial mustard, international towel day and the anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars movie.

We started with poached leeks accompanied by a Dijon mustard vinaigrette sprinkled with shichimi togarashi, a peppery Japanese seasoning. This took care of the mustard anniversary, which merited a festive wine, a sparkling Codorniu Maria Brut, a Chardonnay-Pinot Noir blend from Mendoza, Argentina.

For towel day, I thought we might have towel placemats or napkins, but Dan is more resourceful than that. His first course was straciatella, a clear soup into which he whisked a mixture of eggs, cheese and herbs to give the raggedy look of torn-up towels. The wine was Alfredo Roca Tocai Friulano 2006 from the San Rafael district of Mendoza.

Next came strozzapretti alla cervese, ropy, twisted, freshly made  pasta resembling wrung-out towels. On top was a mix of eggplant, cherry tomatoes, basil and plump shrimp so amazingly light that I thought they might float out of the dish. The wine for this course was Familia Gascon Rose 2005, a blend of Malbec and Sangiovese from Mendoza.

Still more towels appeared as ropa vieja, or old clothes. This was nothing like the beef ropa vieja that is common in Mexican restaurants in the United States, but a sophisticated arrangement of shredded duck on a sweet purple corn pancake with tangy marinated red onion and cabbage on the side.

To match such a riot of flavors was a challenge that Dan met handsomely with Callia Alta Shiraz-Bonarda 2006, a deeply colored, full-flavored red wine from the Tulum Valley in San Juan Province.

Dessert switched to Star Wars and delicious brown sugar, chocolate chip Wookie cookies. The chocolate dipping sauce on the side was flavored with banana and coconut liqueurs steeped with hot chile. We drank a sweet, late harvest Finca El Retiro Tardio 2006 from Tupungato, Mendoza, with the cookies, and thanked Dan for a fine dinner, although not once did we see a real towel or an invader from outer space.

For more details on the dinner, including photographs and how Dan prepared each dish, go to http://www.saltshaker.net/20070529/theme-wars