The question of the beginning of last week was “Comiste Asado?” (Have you had an Asado) and everytime I shamefully had to answer “No”. By Sunday evening I had eaten 3 Asados!!
Asado is the Argentine equivalent of our BBQ but like hell do they put poncy little sausages, burgers and marinated skewered scraps of meat called kebabs on the grill! They put slabs of real meat on the coals- bones, fat inner organs and all! The bigger, the chunkier and the more life-like the better! Traditionally it’s eaten every Sunday, like us Brits eat our roast but they also prepare the Asado “cuando no tienen ganas de cocinar” when they can’t be bothered to cook, which to me makes no sense! It takes a good 3 hours to prepare and cook a good Asado. It’s usually left to the men so maybe what the women really mean to say is that they are tired of cooking, the man can lift his finger for a change!
I shared my first Asado with a family in Machagai, a neighbouring town after visiting some of the local schools with an English teacher. It was delicious and I couldn’t believe the amount of meat we got through- I was struggling and they didn’t even batter and eye-lid! It’s traditionally eaten with a potato, boiled egg and tomato salad unlike our filling bread bap accompaniment! Very clever!
My second Asado w as for lunch on the following Sunday with Claudia, Sergio and Family (Claudia being a fellow English teacher and having practically adopted me here in Saenz Pena helping me with all sorts of situations, preparations and entertainment). This time the Asado was accompanied by a tomato and onion salad which is apparently the true accompaniment!
My third Asado of the week soon followed! That evening I was invited to eat an Asado by some other English teachers. There I saw the whole process and waited patiently for the full 3 and a half hours but it was definitely worth it! We passed the wait chatting and joking and they taught me a whole load of new phrases!
This is when I realised that most of the cultural rituals here evolve around socialising- Mate is drank and passed around friends and people gather and wait together to eat an Asado, there’s no wonder that the Argentines are such warm and welcoming race!
Asado is the Argentine equivalent of our BBQ but like hell do they put poncy little sausages, burgers and marinated skewered scraps of meat called kebabs on the grill! They put slabs of real meat on the coals- bones, fat inner organs and all! The bigger, the chunkier and the more life-like the better! Traditionally it’s eaten every Sunday, like us Brits eat our roast but they also prepare the Asado “cuando no tienen ganas de cocinar” when they can’t be bothered to cook, which to me makes no sense! It takes a good 3 hours to prepare and cook a good Asado. It’s usually left to the men so maybe what the women really mean to say is that they are tired of cooking, the man can lift his finger for a change!
I shared my first Asado with a family in Machagai, a neighbouring town after visiting some of the local schools with an English teacher. It was delicious and I couldn’t believe the amount of meat we got through- I was struggling and they didn’t even batter and eye-lid! It’s traditionally eaten with a potato, boiled egg and tomato salad unlike our filling bread bap accompaniment! Very clever!
My second Asado w as for lunch on the following Sunday with Claudia, Sergio and Family (Claudia being a fellow English teacher and having practically adopted me here in Saenz Pena helping me with all sorts of situations, preparations and entertainment). This time the Asado was accompanied by a tomato and onion salad which is apparently the true accompaniment!
My third Asado of the week soon followed! That evening I was invited to eat an Asado by some other English teachers. There I saw the whole process and waited patiently for the full 3 and a half hours but it was definitely worth it! We passed the wait chatting and joking and they taught me a whole load of new phrases!
This is when I realised that most of the cultural rituals here evolve around socialising- Mate is drank and passed around friends and people gather and wait together to eat an Asado, there’s no wonder that the Argentines are such warm and welcoming race!
Спасибо Вам, за Ваши заметки.Очень интересно, узнаешь о характере людей.
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