Hola from Spain and a taste of Argentine Cuisine

Beautiful Almunñécar at sunset

Granada from San Nicolas view point

Dear readers...

I am afraid that this post contains yet another apology. After spending three weeks at home, I am now in Spain for the rest of the summer. I stayed with a friend in the south for a few days and I am now in Barcelona attending Spanish school. The month seems to have flown by without my posting anything here, and for that I am deeply sorry! Please bear with me and my large "appetite" for life!

As I am currently living, and eating my meals with a host family, I haven't sampled much of the local Spanish cuisine in restaurants. However, my very thoughtful Argentine boyfriend surprised me by paying for a meal for myself and two friends to visit an Argentine restaurant close to where I am staying here in Barcelona. It was delicioso! I had never experienced Argentine cuisine before and I was very impressed. So, of course, here are some photos of the delicious Argentine cuisine that my friends and I enjoyed the other night...

Beef empanadas

The inside of the beef empanadas

Grilled vegetables

The empanadas were completely packed with flavour. The filling had a hint of spice, the meat was so soft and succulent and the pastry was moist but not too heavy. One of my friends decided not to eat all of the pastry as she didn't want to fill up so... I ate it, of course! The grilled vegetables were surprisingly delicious after appearing to be quite a plain dish. The fine slices had a slightly crisp texture and charred flavour.

A few glasses of Argentine red wine to accompany our meal

Entraña: Grilled Argentine Skirt Steak

Asado: Grilled Argentine Rib Steak

My boyfriend recommended that we ordered the Asado and Entraña for mains. We thought that the Asado would have had more flavour because the meat was still on the bone, however, we found the Entraña to be the more flavoursome. It was all that one could have asked for in a steak: juicy, salty, flavoursome, succulent and ever-so-slightly chewy. I felt overwhelmed with every bite. The outside of the Asado meat was oily and crispy. I enjoyed just listening to one crunch into it!

We shared the three desserts on the menu. These were chocolate cake filled with dulce de leche, Argentine alfajor and pancake with dulce de leche. I found all of these desserts to be too sweet for me. It is a fact that Argentines love sabores intensos [intense flavours] so these are very typical Argentine desserts. Also, I believe that dulce de leche was invented in Argentina, that's probably why they love to eat it with most desserts!

Chocolate cake filled with dulce de leche

I have also taken many photos which I wish to share. I hope you enjoy them. During the next few weeks, I hope to experience some Spanish cuisine outside of the house. If and when I do, I promise to share with you all!

La Fuente Mágica [The Magic Fountains]

The street in Barceloneta

Curved chimney at Gaudí's Casa Mila

The church at the top of Mount Tibidabo

Fiesta de la luna llena (full moon party) on El Prat beach

"W Cosmopolitan" at The W Hotel

Inside Freixenet Bodega

Another curved chimney at Gaudí's Casa Mila

Park Güell at night

Thank you again for your patience. I send all of my love from Barcelona and hope that everyone is enjoying their summer. Besos!