Recreating Comfort Foods in Buenos Aires

Although it took a couple of months of ham and cheese sandwiches before it set in, I (like many of my expat friends) suffer the occasional pang of homesickness. Half a world away from my family, skype video calls help to subside these feelings, but only momentarily. After hanging up, my homesickness only seems to deepen. In search of a better cure, I find myself at the grocery store in search of comfort foods.

Although cooking has proven successful in alleviating my yearnings for home, making my favorite comfort foods was not an easy task at first. The typical offerings of Buenos Aires grocery stores are close to those of stores back home, but not the same. They do not consistently stock the same goods, and rarely have some of the things that I loved so much back home: breakfast bacon, sour cream and Campbell’s chicken noodle soup are impossible to find.

So I had to get creative. Thankful for those cooking lessons afforded to me by my mother, I checked out the offerings more typical to Buenos Aires grocery stores and made a few slight changes to those comfort classics that remind me so much of home. Having made some great discoveries, I have now developed recipes that are a slight departure from my favorite soul foods. Although these recipes are slightly different from what I’m used to, I have found that I like these new ones even better than the originals. So if you’re like me and in need of a little comfort food from time to time, here are a few of the recipes I’ve come to love.

Pasta with Ham and Peas
This dish will WHOMP up your Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.

Ingredients:
1 package spiral pasta (tribuzón), cooked al dente
1 T olive oil (aceite de olivo)
1 large onion (cebolla), finely diced
1 small container cream (crema)
*100 grams ham (jamón cocido), diced
*½ bag frozen peas (arvejas)
Grated cheese, preferably parmesan or reggianito
Salt and pepper to taste

**If you’re a vegetarian, or just want a simple cheesy pasta, forego the ham and peas. But if you’re not ham-averse, I highly suggest these yummy additions.

1. In a frying pan, heat oil at medium-low heat and add onions. Cook until translucent.
2. Add cream, ham, peas and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook just until bubbly and peas are fully warmed.
3. Mix sauce with pasta and serve.

Chicken Noodle Soup
Forget about Campbell’s this is better and cheaper!

Ingredients:
1 liter water
1½ cubes chicken bullion (caldo de gallina)
1 T butter (manteca)
2 handfuls pasta of your choice (I suggest small pastas like dedalito)
*1 handful small diced potatoes (optional)

1. This one’s easy. Put all of the ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a rolling boil. Stir occasionally. Serve once pasta and potatoes are fully cooked.

Fajitas
Mexican food is really hard to find in Buenos Aires. Although it is difficult to find the right ingredients for a lot of other Mexican dishes in most grocery stores, I’ve found that fajitas are the easiest option for the quick Mexican fix.

1 package flour tortillas (Rapiditas by Bimbo)

Filling:
1 chicken breast (pechuga), cut into slices
2 T oil (aceite)
1 onion (cebolla), sliced
1 clove garlic (ajo), minced
lime (lima) juice
1 green bell pepper (moron), sliced
1½ T cumin (comino)

Simple fresh tomato salsa:
1 large tomato (tomate), diced
1 medium onion (cebolla), diced finely
1 clove garlic (ajo), minced
¼ cup cilantro (coriandro fresco)—or parsley (perejil) if you can’t find the cilantro
1 lime (lima)
salt to taste

Trucho sour cream (since you won’t find it in the store):
1 container Casancreme or Mendicreme, these are extremely mild Argentine cream cheeses
1 lime (lima)
salt

Guacamole:
1 or 2 avocados (palta)
lime (lima)
Fresh tomato salsa (see recipe above)

1. I always start by making the accompanying sauces for fajitas, so when the chicken is cooked I can bring the piping hot filling straight to the table. Start by making your fresh tomato salsa: just combine the diced tomatoe, onion, garlic, and cilantro (or parsley) in a bowl. Squeeze the juice of at least ½ of the lime over the bowl and sprinkle with salt. Mix the ingredients and put in the fridge to allow the flavors to merry.

2. Sour cream: put the contents of the Casancreme in a bowl and add the juice of 1 lime. Add salt and stir. Put the bowl in the fridge, and let it sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the lime and the cream to merry, also.

3. Guacamole: Mash one avocado in a bowl using a fork and knife. Add 1 cup of the fresh tomato salsa that you just made to the avocado, along with the juice of at least ½ of a lime and salt. Mix up, and place in the fridge.

4. Fajita filling: Start by mixing chicken, onions, peppers, garlic, lime, oil and cumin in a large bowl. Let it this mixture sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to marinade. Then place the mix in a large skillet or wok, and cook over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked and onions are caramelized (about 15 minutes). That’s it.

5. Set your table with all 3 sauces, flour tortillas, hot sauce if you like, and your filling. Allow your guests to fill their own fajitas and enjoy!