Asado, Parilla, Empanada, Carne, Pollo, Milanesa … Two
weeks in Buenos Aires has extended my Spanish vocabulary but most
of the words I've learned seem to describe meat! There's an
abundance of it on every corner, of every street, at any time of
day you can get your hands on some meat.
This is all well and good but after a while you start dreaming
of juicy, ripe tomatoes and crisp celery sticks. Finding this kind
of food can be a challenge so I was over the moon to have an
evening meal at Jueves a la Mesa. Run by Meghan and her
sidekick Sophie, it started as a way to share good food with her
yoga clients and has evolved into a weekly dinner party for 16.
The format of the evening was similar to a closed door
restaurant but with a much more relaxed and informal air. There was
a mix of foreign and local folk and because Christmas was just
around the corner there was a festive merriness to the night.
What really impressed me was the openness with which Meghan runs
the affair, generously sharing her space, her time, her creativity
and her recipes with her guests. After each dinner she sends out an
email with the recipes her and Sophie cooked that evening so you
can attempt to recreate the meal. The menu changes fortnightly and
takes in the natural bounty of food available in Argentina. Our
menu included:
Starter: Cerviche (fish is substituted with
Plátanos, a bigger, less sweet relative of the banana that needs to
be cooked before eaten.)
Main: A nutloaf recipe adapted be more like
Christmas stuffing served with Blueberry/Membrillo Sauce,
Zapallitos filled with Guiso and a Stone Fruit Salad.
Dessert: Calabaza (Butternut Squash) Pie and
homemade heart-shaped dark chocolate.